Women's Basketball Scoreboard (Nov. 15)
UIC 70, Idaho State 62
St. Bonaventure 68, #rv/rv Green Bay 62
Memphis 83, Wright State 75
UIC 70, Idaho State 62
The UIC women’s basketball team (1-2) had four players record double-digit scoring efforts and overcame a four-point halftime deficit to defeat Idaho State, 70-62, for its first win of the 2013-14 season Friday night at the UIC Pavilion. Idaho State (2-1) has averaged 20 wins over the last three seasons and made a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2011-12. The Bengals won 18 games last season and earned a spot in the WNIT.
UIC trailed 35-31 at halftime but the Flames used their size and physicality to dominate the second half. UIC went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half to take a 53-46 lead with 8:42 left in the game.
The Flames held their biggest lead of the second half at 59-48 with 5:26 to go and hit free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. Overall, the Flames outrebounded the Bengals 54-35 and hit 31-of-49 free throw attempts. UIC had 22 offensive rebounds and limited Idaho State to eight offensive boards.
Senior Rachel Story saw her first action of the 2013-14 season and poured in a team-high 18 points in 36 minutes off the bench. She hit 7-of-10 free throws and 3-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc. Story also collected a game-high four steals.
Senior Katie Hannemann tied her career high by pulling down 15 rebounds. Hannemann was the last UIC player to grab 15 rebounds on Feb. 21, 2013 against Wright State. She also hit 8-of-12 free throw attempts and finished with 12 points for the sixth double-double of her career.
Redshirt sophomore Ruvanna Campbell continued her strong start to the 2013-14 season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The effort is her second double-double in three games. Campbell added two assists and two steals in another all-around solid performance.
Sophomore Terri Bender contributed 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting and a team-high three assists. Senior Emily Kobel drained 3-of-11 attempts from three-point land and finished with nine points. Kobel needs 11 more three-pointers to enter the program’s Top 10.
St. Bonaventure 68, Green Bay 62
The Green Bay women’s basketball team built an early lead over St. Bonaventure, but a hot-shooting second half helped propel the Bonnies to a 68-62 win over the Phoenix on Friday evening at the Reilly Center.
The Bonnies shot 58.3 percent (14-24) in the second half, improving to 2-1 on the early season. Comparatively, the Phoenix shot a steady 37.5 percent (21-56) in the game while being handed its first loss in its first road game of the season.
“It was a good effort by St. Bonaventure,” head coach Kevin Borseth said. “Both teams needed to make adjustments in the game and they were able to make them and get back in the game while we were unable to make those changes.”
A streaky first half saw the Phoenix jump out to a 16 point lead (26-10) with 8:36 remaining before St. Bonaventure closed with a run of its own to pull back to within four points, 31-27, at halftime.
Kaili Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) netted the first points of the game with a three and Mehryn Kraker (West Allis, Wis.) followed as the Phoenix took an opening 5-0 lead. Green Bay steadily built its lead to 7-5 with 16:39 remaining before going on a 9-1 run to jump out to a 16-6 advantage at the under 12 timeout. Tesha Buck (Red Wing, Minn.) totaled five points in the run, while Mariah Monke (Fergus Falls, Minn.) chipped in four.
The Phoenix took its largest lead of the game at 16 points (26-10) with 8:36 remaining, but the Bonnies responded down the stretch, closing the half on a 17-5 run to pull to within four points, 31-27, at intermission.
SBU had just six field goals in the first half, with over half of its points coming at the charity stripe (14) after the Phoenix committed 15 fouls. Green Bay finished the half shooting 37.5 percent (12-32) compared to 33.3 percent (6-18) from the the Bonnies.
“We had a nice lead but got into foul trouble in the first half and saw a lot of girls on the bench because of it,” Borseth said. “That really helped them [St. Bonaventure] get back in the game, going to the line 21 times.”
Hot shooting gave the hosts the advantage it needed in the second half. Chelsea Bowker opened the stanza for the Bonnies with a three point shot to get them to within one, 31-30. A pair of Kraker free throws and a Kaili Lukan layup put the Phoenix lead back at five (35-30), but an 8-0 run gave the Bonnies a 38-36 lead and forced Green Bay to call a timeout with 15:18 remaining.
St. Bonaventure steadily built on its advantage, leading by as many as 15 (60-45) with six minutes remaining.
Green Bay made things interesting down the stretch. Holding the Bonnies without a field goal the final six minutes, the Phoenix chipped away at the lead and pulled to within four points (60-56) on a three by Buck with just over two minutes remaining. However, the Phoenix couldn’t pull any closer as the Bonnies went 8-for-11 from the line to close the game for the final 68-62 margin.
“We had good shots in the second half, but we just couldn’t get into a rhythm,” said Borseth.
St. Bonaventure finished the game shooting 47.6 percent (20-42) from the field, while the Phoenix went 37.5 percent (21-56). Green Bay forced the Bonnies into 17 turnovers, turning those miscues into 14 points, while only committing seven itself.
Kaili Lukan finished with a team and career-high 13 points, while Buck and Megan Lukan finished with 11 apiece. Kraker had a team-high six rebounds and three assists.
SBU’s Gabrielle Richmond had a game-high 17 points, and Hannah Little added a game-best 10 boards.
Memphis 83, Wright State 75
The Wright State women's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit to tie the score in the second half, but could not get over the hump as Memphis held on for an 83-75 win Friday night at WSU's Nutter Center.
The Raiders led 11-6 on two Kim Demmings foul shots with 16:05 to play in the first half, but that turned out to be the largest lead of the night for WSU as the Tigers answered with six straight points to go up for the first time at 12-11.
A 9-0 burst gave Memphis a 32-21 advantage wtih 5:48 remaining in the half, only to see Wright State close the period on a 15-8 run to cut the deficit to 40-36 at the break.
The Tigers shot 42 percent from the field in the first half compared to just 26 percent for the Raiders, but WSU hit 13 of 16 foul shots while Memphis was eight of 13.
The lead was eight for Memphis twice in the early going of the second half before Wright State tied it at 51 on a Demmings jumper with 13:30 to play. Ariel Hearn, however, connected on a three on the next possession for the Tigers and despite the Raiders closing to within two on three occasions down the stretch, Memphis held on to the lead the rest of the way.
Memphis finished at 46 percent for the game compared to 30 percent for WSU, dominated the boards by a 60-38 count and led 46-12 in points in the paint.
James, for the second straight game, set a career high in scoring as she led the Raiders with 25 points and had eight rebounds while Demmings added 24 points along with six rebounds and five steals before fouling out with 3:13 left. Tay'ler Mingo had 12 points, 10 in the second half, while Tayler Stanton collected 12 rebounds.
Hearn paced Memphis (2-1) with 23 points while Asianna Fuqua-Bey had 17, Breigha Wilder-Cochran 13, Devin Mack 11 off the bench and Pa'Sonna Hope a double-double of 10 points and 12 boards.
