Women's Basketball Scoreboard (Dec. 1)
Wright State 79, James Madison 77
East Carolina 75, Cleveland State 66
Montana State 96, Valparaiso 85 (ot)
Wright State 79, James Madison 77
A KC Elkins three from the right corner as time expired lifted the women's basketball team to a thrilling 79-77 win over James Madison in the third-place game of the Gulf Coast Showcase Sunday in Estero, Florida.
The Dukes broke an early 3-3 tie with five straight points and later stretched the advantage to 28-16 on a Kirby Burkholder layup with 8:23 remaining in the first half. WSU, however, stormed back with a 16-4 burst over the next 3:25 to even things againat 32, eight of those coming from Kim Demmings and six by Tay'ler Mingo.
The game was tied four more times in the period before Burkholder evened it again at 42 with a layup going into halftime.
JMU shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, including three of six from three-point range, but was just three of seven from the foul line while the Raiders shot 48 percent overall, only two of eight from behind the arc, but hit 16 of 20 at the stripe.
Neither team had more than a four-point edge the entire second half as they were 10 ties and 10 lead changes altogether. Wright State looked to be in control up 76-73 in the final minute before James Madison used two Toia Giggetts free throws and, after a turnover, another Burkholder basket to make it 77-76 with 19.7 seconds left.
After a Raider timeout, Demmings had the ball at midcourt to set up a final shot, but she was defended at the foul line, resulting in a pass to Elkins in the right corner, who drained the game-winning three, WSU's only three the entire second half.
The Dukes continued their hot shooting in the second half, hitting for 56 percent to end the game at 52 percent overall compared to 41 percent for the Raiders. James Madison also dominated points in the paint by a 50-30 count.
Wright State, meanwhile, shot 36 in the second half to finish at 41 percent for the game, but the Raiders led 27-18 in points off of turnovers and made 28 of 34 foul shots compared to seven of 11 for JMU.
Demmings, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, posted her first double-double of the season as she had 28 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Mingo added 26 points thanks in part to hitting 16 of 17 foul shots, including each of her final 16 attempts.
Burkholder recorded a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds for James Madison (5-2).
East Carolina 75, Cleveland State 66
Despite three players scoring in double-digits – led by Imani Gordon with a career-high 25 point effort – the Cleveland State women's basketball team fell short against East Carolina, 75-66 Sunday afternoon. Sunday's contest was the final game of the ECU Pirate Thanksgiving Tournament, as the Vikings finished the weekend with a 1-1 record, and a 3-4 mark overall this season.
The Vikings had two representatives on the All-Tournament Team – Imani Gordon and Haley Schmitt. For the tournament, Gordon tallied 39 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists, while Schmitt notched 30 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Gordon shot 51-percent from the floor (14-27) through the two games, while Schmitt shot 63-percent (12-19).
Gordon's 25 points came off of a 10-15 performance from the field, including a 2-3 mark from three-point. Along with Gordon, Haley Schmitt and Kiersten Green also tallied double-digit points, Schmitt with a career-high 18 and Green with 10. Schmitt's career-high performance came with a 6-for-9 effort from the field, including a 4-for-5 mark from behind-the-arc.
During the first half the Vikings got 18 of their 28 points off of three-point shots, including three from Schmitt, heading into the halftime break trailing 34-28. East Carolina then opened the second frame with a 17-4 run, gaining a 19-point lead at the 51-32 mark – their largest lead of the contest. With 13:39 left to play, the Vikings responded with 12 straight points, closing the margin to single digits at 51-44 with 11:37 remaining.
During this 12-0 run, the Vikings got points from six different players, including another three from Schmitt – her career-high fourth of the contest. Seven points would be as close as the Vikings could get at this point, as the Pirates answered with a 9-0 run of their own, extending their lead back to 16 points at the 60-44 mark with 8:54 left to play.
The Pirates then held at least a 13-point lead over the next 3:02, before a pair of Schmitt free throws and a Schmitt layup brought CSU within 11 points at the 66-55 mark. The two teams then traded baskets over the next three minutes, until a Green three-pointer at the 2:04 mark closed the gap to single digits once again at 72-63.
After ECU gained another 10-point lead following a free throw with just over one minute to play, Adesuwa Aideyman converted her lone three-pointer of the game to bring the Vikings within seven, at 73-66 with 39-seconds remaining. With just 30-seconds remaining, the Vikings were forced to foul, putting the Pirates at the free throw line four times, with ECU capitalizing on two of those shots, ending the contest with the nine-point victory.
As a team, the Vikings shot 46-percent from the floor (24-52) and 41-percent from three-point (10-24). CSU notched 12 assists on the day, and forced ECU into 17 turnovers – turning the 17 turnovers into 16 points.
Montana State 96, Valparaiso 85 (ot)
The Crusaders were literally a second away from their first win of the season before Montana State guard Jackie Elliott's desperation three sent Sunday's game to overtime. Montana State then outscored Valpo 21-10 in the extra frame to claim the consolation championship of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic 96-85 in Miami.
The Bobcats entered Sunday's game having made just 15 three-pointers in their first five games. Accordingly, Valparaiso kept its focus on the post as the Crusaders were willing to allow the Bobcats to fire away from beyond 15 feet. The plan worked in the first half as Montana State shot 1-for-10 from three-point range.
Meanwhile, the Crusaders cashed in on opportunities from the line. Fourteen of Valpo's 32 first-half points came at the charity stripe. Despite not recording their first field goal until the 13:14 mark, the Brown and Gold won the battle in the paint by a 18-8 margin in the first twenty minutes. Valpo led 32-27 at halftime.
Montana State's three-point shooting turned a 180 in the second frame, as the Bobcats drained 8 of 15 tries from beyond the arc.
Jessi Wiedemann (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) and Liz Horton (Cannelburg, Ind./Barr-Reeve) gave the Crusaders a 12-point lead via the three-ball with 11 minutes remaining in the game.
Two of Charae Richardson's (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson [Vincennes]) career-high 23 points came on a layup with nine minutes to play. The drive gave Valpo a 59-45 advantage.
Ashley Brumwell hit treys on back-to-back possessions to draw the Bobcats to within eight points.
The Bobcats owned the offensive boards late in the second half as they eventually took a 64-63 lead with 3:38 left. It stayed a one-possession game the rest of the way as the teams combined to shoot 14 free-throws in the final three-and-a-half minutes.
Wiedemann made two free-throws with 11 seconds on the clock to give the Brown and Gold a 75-72 lead.
On the final possession of regulation, the Bobcats feverishly cycled the ball around the perimeter. It appeared as though Montana State wasn't going to get a shot off before the horn sounded, but Elliott heaved a three from directly in front of the Bobcat bench. The shot took a fortuitous bounce off the backboard and caromed in to tie the game and cap a 30-16 Montana State run to end the half.
Abby Dean (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) scored six seconds into overtime to give the Crusaders a quick two-point overtime lead. Unfortunately, the layup represented the last time Valpo would be in front. Montana State reacted with a 13-1 run. The Bobcats won the contest 96-85, scoring ten of their 21 overtime points from the line.
In a tilt that saw 61 fouls, the Crusaders were in the bonus prior to the 12-minute mark of both halves. They made 28 of their 38 free-throws.
Lexi Miller (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) sank all six of her free throws as part of a 16-point, 8-rebound afternoon. Miller was named to the All-Tournament team.
Wiedemann and Horton finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Tags: Cleveland State - Women's Basketball · Valparaiso - Women's Basketball · Wright State - Women's Basketball
