Women's Basketball Scoreboard (Dec. 18)
Cleveland State 65, New Hampshire 50
UIC 71, Western Michigan 61
#18/21 Purdue 49, Green Bay 45
Cleveland State 65, New Hampshire 50
Behind three players in double-figures the Cleveland State women's basketball team got back on the winning track Wednesday afternoon, earning a 65-50 victory over New Hampshire. With the win, the Vikings are now 5-5 on the season, while the Wildcats fall to 4-6.
Cori Coleman led the Vikings with 18 points against the Wildcats - which included a trio of three-pointers - while Kiersten Green added 13 points and Imani Gordon tallied 12. Gordon and Green have now tallied double-digit points in all 10 games so far this season.
Gordon also notched a team-high nine rebounds, while Haley Schmitt tallied eight and Coleman grabbed six.
After a back-and-forth first half, the Vikings headed into the halftime break with a six-point lead (34-28), following a Coleman put-back as time was expiring. Cleveland State posted a 10-7 run to open the second half, and was then able to extend their lead to double-digits (45-35) at the 9:56 mark on a Gordon free throw.
The Vikings were able to hold at least a seven-point lead over the next 4:22, until a Schmitt layup and free throw put CSU back up by 10 at the 52-42 mark with 5:34 left to play. CSU extended its lead to 16-points following an 8-2 run over the next 3:57 – which included four points from Green and three from Brooke Smith, who finished with six points against the Wildcats.
Over the next 1:27, Cleveland State gained its largest lead of the contest (18 points), following a pair of baskets from Smith and Green, and another Smith free throw. This stretch gave CSU a 65-47 advantage with just 10 seconds remaining, but UNH was able to convert a three-pointer with just four-seconds left on the clock to put the final score at 65-50.
For the game, the Vikings grabbed a season-high 40 rebounds, outrebounded the Wildcats 40-33. CSU forced UNH into 16 turnovers – converting them into 13 points. The Vikings also posted six steals, including three from Green.
UIC 71, Western Michigan 61
The UIC women’s basketball team (7-2) won its seven consecutive game Wednesday (Dec. 18) with a 71-61 road victory over Western Michigan (3-6) inside University Arena. Rachel Story scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Flames while Katie Hannemann (15 points and seven rebounds) and Ruvanna Campbell (13 points and 15 rebounds) had strong games inside the paint.
The Flames’ 7-2 record matches the 2001-02 squad for the best nine-game start in the Division I era. It is also UIC’s first seven-game win streak since Jan. 11-Feb. 8, 2007 in the midst of a program-record 11 consecutive victories. Four of the six victories have been over 2012-13 WNIT participants (Idaho State, Miami Ohio, Texas Southern and Butler).
UIC and WMU both shot 36.7 percent from the field (22-of-60) but the Flames held a 26-to-13 advantage in made free throws. UIC out-rebounded WMU 47-37 and held a 13-7 advantage in second-chance points. The Flames scored 12 points off 14 Bronco turnovers.
WMU led 15-14 with 9:46 remaining in the first half before UIC went on an 11-2 run to take a 25-17 lead with 5:43 left in the half. Alex Morton’s layup with 1:47 before halftime cut the Flames’ lead to 31-25 at the break.
WMU got within one at 34-33 on A.J. Johnson’s three-pointer with 18:29 left in the game but Story scored 17 of UIC’s 40 second-half points as the Flames pulled away for their fourth straight win over the Broncos. Two free throws from Campbell at 2:11 gave the Flames their largest lead at 62-50. UIC hit 18-of-26 free throws in the second half.
Story was 7-of-13 from the field and a career-high 11-of-15 from the charity stripe. In the second half, she was 5-of-6 from the field and 7-of-11 from the line. Story now owns three 20-point efforts this season and 14 in her UIC career. She has been in double-figures in ten straight contests dating back to last season and the Flames are undefeated (7-0) with Story in the lineup this season.
Hannemann was 5-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from the line. She has been in double-figures in eight consecutive contests. Hannemann, who had nine second-half points, also collected two steals against the Broncos.
Campbell recorded her conference-leading seventh double-double and she has been in double-figures in every game this season. She also added three assists, two blocks and two steals. Campbell had eight points and eight rebounds to lead UIC offensively in the first half.
Sophomore Terri Bender added seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and two of UIC’s six steals. Senior Emily Kobel contributed six points and five rebounds.
Purdue 49, Green Bay 45
Trailing by 11 points with three minutes remaining, a resilient Green Bay women’s basketball team mounted a comeback that got them to within a point but eventually fell short as the Phoenix dropped a 49-45 decision to No. 18/21 Purdue, on Wednesday evening at the Kress Center.
Down by two points (20-18) to start the second half, the Boilermakers (8-2) looked to put the game away early in the second half as it started with a 10-0 run to jump out to a 28-20 lead just three minutes in. The lead grew to as many as 12 points (34-22) midway through the second stanza, but Green Bay (6-4) never quit.
With Purdue leading 34-22 at the 12:50 mark, the Phoenix went on a 8-1 run over the next 5:03 to get back to within five points (35-30) with 7:47 remaining. Back-to-back threes from junior Megan Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) and freshman Tesha Buck (Red Wing, Minn.) kick started the Green Bay offense before a layup by senior Breannah Ranger (Skokie, Ill.) brought the Phoenix to within five points (35-30). A three by Purdue’s KK Houser brought the run to an end, but on the next possession Buck responded with a trey of her own to keep the margin at five points
However, the Boilermakers used a quick 6-0 run to push its advantage back to 11 points (44-33) before the Phoenix mounted its late game rally to nearly pull off the upset. A 10-0 run powered by a three point shot from Megan Lukan and back-to-back layups from Buck and Ranger was capped as freshman Mehryn Kraker (West Allis, Wis.) found the net deep in the corner for a three-point shot to get the Phoenix to within one, 44-43, with 49 seconds remaining.
Back at the other end of the court, a Ranger foul put Purdue at the line for two free throw points, and on the ensuing possession Kraker had another three-point look at the basket with 19 seconds remaining that bounced out but deflected off a Boilermaker to keep possession with the Phoenix. On the inbounds play Buck’s three-point attempt sailed high, and Purdue’s Houser was fouled on the rebound to send her to the line where she made both. Megan Lukan got a layup with four seconds remaining to get the home team back to within three, 48-45, but Houser made one of two free throws in the final minutes to secure the 49-45 victory for the Boilermakers.
Purdue scored the first basket of the game, but the Phoenix then used a 9-1 run to assume its largest lead of the half (9-3) at the 11:48 mark. Redshirt freshman Mehryn Kraker (West Allis, Wis.) led off with a three before the Phoenix moved the attack inside with paint points by freshman Tesha Buck (Red Wing, Minn.) and classmate Mariah Monke (Fergus Falls, Minn.). The Boilermakers received a point on an April Wilson free throw, but sophomore Kaili Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) again found the bucket from the lane to put the Phoenix ahead, 9-3.
The Boilermakers were able to tie the game on two more occasions, unable to grab the lead as the Phoenix offense responded each time to keep the home team ahead. Tied 11-11 with 7:01 on the clock, Green Bay steadily maintained its lead, going ahead by as many as four points (20-16) in the closing minutes before Purdue sunk a pair of free throws to pull to within two (20-18) going into intermission.
Strong freshman play carried the Phoenix in the first 20 minutes, with Kraker, Buck, Monke and Sam Terry (Baraboo, Wis.) combining to score 16 of the team’s 20 points. Both teams struggled to make shots fall, as Green Bay shot 27.3 percent (9-33) from the field and Purdue shot 31.8 percent (7-22).
The shooting totals didn’t improve much for the game, as the Phoenix was 28.4 percent (19-67) from the field for the game, while the visitors shot 35.0% (14-40). In a sight not normally seen, Green Bay went to the free throw line just one time in the contest, as Terry missed the lone attempt at the 6:40 mark of the first half. On the other end, Purdue was 17-of-21 (81.0%) from the charity stripe.
The Boilermakers controlled the boards, 45-31, but Green Bay stood atop in almost every other statistical category including steals (10-5), assists (13-9), turnovers (10-21), points in the paint (22-8) and points off turnovers (22-4). Both teams also finished with six blocks, a single-game season high for the Phoenix.
Green Bay was paced by 10 points apiece from Buck and Megan Lukan. Monke had a strong showing, finishing with a career-high seven points and three blocks in addition to four rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench, while Ranger finished with six points and a team-high five rebounds.
Tags: Cleveland State - Women's Basketball · Green Bay - Women's Basketball · UIC - Women's Basketball
