December 30, 2009

RedStorm women back on winning side

N. Canton, Oh. --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm women's basketball team got back on the winning side of the ledger with a come from behind 78-74 victory at Walsh in the first round of the Canton Classic on Tuesday evening.

Rio Grande (8-6) trailed by as many five points in the first half and 35-32 at halftime. The RedStorm gained control of the game in the second half and built the lead as high as 10 points at 11:01 mark. 

Walsh (8-5) battled back to tie the score at 70-70 late in the game, the seventh tie of the night.

Junior guard Jenna Smith (Bellefontaine, OH) burst out of a shooting slump to lead Rio Grande with 25 points, going 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point land. Smith also dished out five assists. Junior forward Leah Kendro (Strongsville, OH) added 12 points and led the RedStorm with eight rebounds. 

Junior point guard Bre Davis (Marietta, OH) chipped in 11 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Senior forward Courtney Congrove (Chillicothe, OH) tossed in 10 points

Walsh was led by Cara Bedard with 20 points. Katie Berry added 16 points and Kayla Kovach chipped in 12 points. 

Rio burned the nets in the second half at a 54.2 percent (13-of-24) clip after halftime, including nailing 6-of-8 tries from long range. Rio also got the job done at the free throw converting 23-of-29 attempts (79.3 percent). 

Rio will be back in action on Wednesday against Malone in the final game of the Canton Classic. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. Rio beat Malone 75-40 at home on December 11.