December 6, 2009

RedStorm edges C of O

Georgetown, Ky. --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm women's basketball team stopped a brief two-game losing skid with a 70-65 victory over College of the Ozarks on Saturday afternoon at the Jim Reid Classic held at Georgetown College.

This was a big win for Rio Grande as Ozarks was ranked No. 7 in the NAIA Division II Top 25 poll. 

Rio Grande (6-4) again received a big time performance from junior forward Leah Kendro (Strongsville, OH). Kendro scored 21 points to lead Rio Grande in scoring. She also pulled down seven rebounds and nailed 5-of-9 attempts from beyond the three-point arc. 

Junior guard Bre Davis (Marietta, OH) scored in double figures for the second consecutive game, tossing in 13 points. She also dished out, a team-high, five assists. Junior guard Jenna Smith (Bellefontaine, OH) nearly made it three Rio players in double figures with nine points. 

Junior center Ashley Saunders (Amanda, OH) also produced a solid game with eight points and she topped the RedStorm with nine rebounds. 

College of Ozarks (8-2) was led by duo of Morgan Smith and Emily Bell. Smith recorded a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds while Bell added 21 points and pulled down seven boards. 

The game was close throughout with Rio Grande holding a 32-29 lead at the half. The RedStorm out-scored C of O by two (38-36) in the second half. 

A key difference in the game was how the teams fared at the free throw line. Rio connected on 14-of-15 from the charity stripe (all coming in the second half) for 93.3 percent while Ozarks hit only 9-of-17 (56.3 percent) for the game.

Rio Grande returns home on Friday (December 11) in the opening game of the Newt Oliver Coaches Classic Weekend versus former American Mideast Conference foe Malone. Tip-off is set 6 p.m. Stretch Internet will have play-by-play coverage beginning at 5:50 p.m.