Skeens leads Rio women in rout of Red Wolves

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - So what does one do for an encore performance after setting a new single-game school scoring record?
     In the case of Ella Skeens, the answer was to carve up the opposing defense like Michael Myers cutting through a town full of unsuspecting teenagers on Halloween night.
     Skeens poured in a game-high 42 points, including 31 in the opening half, to lead the University of Rio Grande in a 105-66 rout of Indiana University East, Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference women's basketball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     The RedStorm, ranked No. 13 in the latest NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, pushed their overall record to 20-3 with the victory and won for the 11th time in 12 conference outings.
IU East dropped to 9-12 overall and 8-4 versus RSC foes.
     The Red Wolves hung close early on, trailing just 27-24 after one quarter and 39-35 after a bucket by Kenzie Hudgen with 4:28 remaining in the first half, but Rio closed the opening stanza on a 17-0 run to open up a 21-point halftime cushion and never looked back.
     Skeens was the biggest reason why.
     The Chillicothe, Ohio senior - who went 19-for-21 from the field and 11-for-13 from the foul line en route to a 50-point night in a win over Asbury University on Tuesday - scored 15 points in the opening period and added 16 more in the second stanza, including nine in the half-ending run. She hit 12 of her 15 overall attempts in the half, including five of seven three-point tries.
     IU East failed to get any closer than the lopsided halftime deficit the rest of the way and the 39-point final margin of victory represented the RedStorm's biggest lead of the contest.
     Skeens finished 17-for-23 overall, 5-for-7 from distance and 3-for-3 at the free throw line. She also tied sophomores Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) and Harlei Antritt (Newark, OH) for game- and team-high honors in rebounding with six and equaled Darnell with a game- and team-best three steals.
     Darnell finished with 19 points in her own right, including 13 after halftime, while junior Jocelyn Abraham (Exchange, WV) netted a season-high 11 points and sophomore Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) had her second straight double-digit outing in assists with 10.
     Rio Grande, which shot 52 percent overall (43-for-82) and 50 percent from three-point range (9-for-18), also had a whopping 34 assists on its 43 made baskets and enjoyed a commanding 47-30 edge in rebounding.
     The RedStorm also committed just 11 turnovers.
     IU East shot well from the field, too, going 27-for-58 (46.6%), but the Red Wolves hit just four of their 16 three-point tries (25.0%) and went only 8-for-22 at the charity stripe (36.4%).
     IUE also had 22 turnovers, which led directly to 29 points for Rio.
     Hudgen and Addie Brown had 13 points each to lead the Wolves, while Tia Tolbert and Taylor Browning had five rebounds each.
     Tolbert also tallied three steals, while Davina Smith had five assists in a losing effort.
     Rio Grande will return to action next Saturday when it hosts Ohio Christian University for a 1 p.m. tipoff.