Skeens sets pair of records in Rio rout of Asbury

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande did not get a perfect performance from senior standout Ella Skeens on Tuesday night.
     But the effort from the Chillicothe, Ohio product was pretty darn close.
     Skeens set a new single-game school record with 50 points in leading the RedStorm to a 99-59 rout of Asbury University in non-conference women's basketball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande, ranked No. 11 in the most recent NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, rebounded from Saturday's loss at Oakland City University and improved to 19-3 with the victory.
     Asbury, a former River States Conference member who left the NAIA for NCAA Division III two years ago, slipped to 10-9 with the loss.
     Skeens missed just two of her 21 overall field goal attempts, was perfect in her lone three-point shot and was 11-for-13 at the free throw line.
     Her 50 points topped the previous single-game school record of 46 points, which set by Lee Ann Mullins on Nov. 19, 1988 against Wingate University.
     Skeens' 19 made field goals also set a new single-game program record, surpassing the previous mark of 16 set by Mullins in the game against Wingate and equaled by Sarah Bonar against Ohio Valley University on Dec. 12, 2015.
     Skeens also finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and five steals.
     Rio Grande trailed 18-16 after a layup by Asbury's Haleigh Releford with 41 seconds left in the opening quarter, but the Eagles went scoreless over the next 8:17 and the RedStorm reeled off 24 consecutive points - capped by a layup by Skeens - to take a 40-18 advantage.
     Rio's lead settled at 24 points by halftime and grew to as many as 33 points with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
     The Eagles twice sliced the deficit to 20 points, including 73-53 after a bucket by Trinity Shearer with 6:43 left in the contest, but got no closer the rest of the way.
     The RedStorm ended any hopes of a miraculous comeback by following Shearer's layup with a 12-1 run over the next three minutes to push the lead back to 31 points.
     Rio's largest lead of the night was 41 points, 97-56, following a pair of free throws by sophomore Natalie Kalaydijev (Vienna, Austria) with 53.8 seconds remaining.
     The RedStorm also got 10 points and a career-high 13 assists in the win from sophomore Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH), while sophomore Harlei Antritt (Newark, OH) was credited with four of her team's 11 blocked shots.
     Rio Grande, which kept the Eagles close early by committing nine of its 23 turnovers in the opening quarter, finished 36-for-72 overall (50.0%) and 24-for-31 at the foul line (77.4%).
     The RedStorm also enjoyed a commanding 58-32 edge in rebounding.
     Shearer led Asbury with 15 points, including 12 in the second half, while Jaclynn Ruble finished with 13 points to go along with a team-high five rebounds and four steals.
     Releford had 12 points and a team-high three assists and Camryn Preston blocked four shots for the Eagles, who shot just 30 percent overall (21-for-70) and 24 percent from three-point range (8-for-33).
     The visitors also had 27 turnovers of their own, which led to a 32-14 Rio advantage in points off of the turnovers.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday when it jumps back into RSC play against Indiana University East.
     Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Newt Oliver Arena.