Rio women shake off slow start, roll Cougars

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Perhaps the final outcome of Tuesday night's River States Conference matchup with Indiana University Kokomo speaks volumes about the quality of the University of Rio Grande's women's basketball team.
     Whether it was just an off-night or the after effects of Monday afternoon's intense showdown with No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan University, the RedStorm looked nothing like the nation's 12th-ranked team for a good portion of the contest.
     And, yet, they won.
     And by 27 points at that.
     Head coach David Smalley's squad overcame a disastrous start and cruised to a convincing 76-49 triumph over the Cougars at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande improved to 14-2 overall and 6-0 in conference play with the victory.
     IU Kokomo slipped to 1-14 overall and 1-5 in the RSC as a result of the loss.
     Rio Grande hit just four of its 19 first quarter field goal attempts and committed seven turnovers in the opening period as the Cougars grabbed a 15-12 advantage.
     The RedStorm then had three more turnovers on their first three possessions of the second stanza and trailed by as many as four points before finally taking the lead for good, 26-25, after a jumper by sophomore Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) with 3:36 left before halftime.
     IUK still found itself down by just one, 28-27, after a pair of Ella Wolfe free throws with 2:54 remaining in the half, but Rio officially began the process of pulling away by closing the half on a 12-0 run and enjoying a 13-point cushion at the intermission.
     The Cougars managed to pull within 11 points, 50-39, after a pair of free throws by Anya Friend with 2:13 left in the third quarter, but got no closer the rest of the way as the RedStorm scored the final eight points of the stanza and the first point of the first quarter to increase their lead to 20 points, 59-39, after Darnell hit one of two free throw attempts with 9:50 remaining in the game.
     IUK scored on its ensuing possession, but Rio Grande reeled off 11 of the next 13 points after that and took its largest lead of the night, 70-43, after a layup by senior Ella Skeens (Chillicothe, OH) with 5:28 left to play.
     The RedStorm matched the 27-point advantage with the game's final score.
     Skeens led Rio with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) had 15 points, four assists and four steals.
     Darnell tacked on 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists of her own in the winning effort.
     Rio Grande finished 29-for-69 from the floor overall (42.0%) and enjoyed a 51-41 edge in rebounding, but went just 1-for-12 from three-point range (8.3%), 17-for-28 at the foul line (60.7%) and committed 20 turnovers - its third straight outing of 20 turnovers or more.
     IU Kokomo had 28 turnovers of its own, helping the RedStorm to a decisive 28-9 edge in points off of the miscues.
     The Cougars hit just 18 of their 58 field goal tries overall (31.0%), while going 2-for-15 from beyond the three-point arc (13.3%) and connecting on just 11 of their 19 free throw opportunities (57.9%).
     Wolfe led IUK with 11 points and a pair of assists, while Mia Catey had six rebounds and Anna Kiser finished with two assists of her own and a pair of blocked shots.
     Emma Good also handed out a pair of assists and Alaya Chapman had two steals for the Cougars.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday afternoon when it opens a two-game RSC road trip in Indiana at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.
     Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.