RedStorm women move to 3-0 in MSC play

Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm women's basketball team, who received one vote this week in the NAIA Top 25 rating, improved to 3-0 in the Mid-South Conference with an 84-66 win over St. Catharine College on Thursday night at the Newt Oliver Arena.

Rio Grande (12-7, 3-0 MSC) has won five of its last six games and is playing at a high level at present. Both teams started a little slow, but Rio Grande slowly gained control of the game, jumping out to a 14-5 lead. The RedStorm would get the lead to as high 16 points in the first half at 27-11.

St. Catharine (7-12, 1-2 MSC) collected its legs and withstood the early Rio run and was able to get back into the game cutting the deficit to six points at 38-32 at the half as Erin Rogers banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to close out the first 20 minutes of action. 

The Patriots would get as close as four points (43-39) in the second half before Rio Grande turned up the wick and methodically increased the lead throughout the second half to collect the easy margin of victory. The RedStorm would increase the lead to 20 points on two occasions after halftime at 68-48 and 78-58.

Rio junior guard Jenna Smith (Bellefontaine, OH) was on her game as she led all scorers with 22 points. She also dished out four assists and had six steals. Smith also went 10-for-10 at the charity stripe. Junior forward Leah Kendro (Strongsville, OH) added 18 points and went 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Thanks to Smith and Kendro, Rio had a tremendous night at the foul line as the RedStorm hit 23-of-24 attempts for 95.8 percent. 

Freshman forward Kati Moore (Lancaster, OH) had an excellent game off the bench for the RedStorm as she nearly captured a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. 

SCC had four players reach double figures led by Reena Haliburton with 14 points off the bench. Haliburton also pulled down five rebounds. Brittany Darden added 13 points and six boards while Jennica Garrity posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Kyleigh Kreyenbuhl chipped in 11 points.

Rio Grande shot the ball extremely well from the field, connecting on 28-of-50 (56 percent) attempts, including 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. 

"I was pleased and proud, I thought our kids did a much better job in the second half," Rio Grande head coach David Smalley said. "When you knock down 23-of-24 free throws and really had only four people at the line, Jenna Smith was 10-for-10 and Leah Kendro 10-for-11, that's going to help you out down the stretch."

"I thought that was a big plus for us," Smalley added. "I thought Leah and Jen did a nice job, I thought Kati Moore came in and had another great game, she's starting to come into her own."

"The future is really looking good for that young lady."

Rio now prepares for a statement game, a showdown with NAIA No. 10 Campbellsville University on Saturday at Campbellsville. Campbellsville is also 3-0 in MSC play. 

Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. Stretch Internet will have play-by-play coverage beginning at 1:50 p.m.