Rio women roll in season opener

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - University of Rio Grande women's basketball head coach David Smalley admitted he was a little concerned would perform for the first time since losing All-America guard Ella Skeens to graduation following the 2022-23 season.
     The veteran bench boss got his answer on Saturday night and used the extra hour of sleep granted by Daylight Savings Time to rest a little easier.
     The RedStorm countered a quick 7-3 deficit with seven straight points of their own and never looked back, cruising to a 99-62 rout of the University of California-Merced in the opening round of the Woods Lumber Classic at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande, which is ranked No. 9 in the NAIA preseason Top 25 coaches' poll, had 11 of its 13 players score in the season-opening win.
     UC-Merced, which is making its furthest trip east in program history, dropped to 1-1 with the loss.
     The Bobcats jumped to their four-point advantage just over a minute into the contest, but surrender the 7-0 run to their hosts and never led again.
     Rio Grande built an 11-point lead by the end of the first period and methodically continued to pull away, leading by 15 points at halftime, by 26 at the close of the third quarter and by as many as 43 points inside the final minute of the game.
     The RedStorm shot 50 percent overall (32-for-64), including a 7-for-15 performance (46.7%) from three-point range, while also going an impressive 28-for-35 at the free throw line (80.0%).
Rio also enjoyed a 52-41 edge in rebounding.
     Junior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) led the winning effort with 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. She was 13-for-18 at the foul line.
     Senior Reagan Willingham (Ashville, OH) connected on each of her first four three-point attempts and finished with 14 points, while sophomore Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) netted 10 points to go along with six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots off the bench.
     Junior Harlei Antritt (Newark, OH) led the RedStorm with eight rebounds, while senior Lavender Ward (Charleston, WV) and junior Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) had four assists each.
     Nicole Lukito led UC-Merced off the bench with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Emily Perez tossed in 11 points and handed out four assists.
     The Bobcats, who are a member of the NAIA's California-Pacific (Cal-Pac) Conference, shot 31.6 percent overall (24-for-76) and was 5-for-26 from distance (19.2%), while also hitting just nine of their 20 free throw attempts.
     The two-day Classic concludes on Sunday with UC-Merced facing Rochester (Mich.) University in the 1 p.m. opener and Rio Grande hosting Union (Ky.) College in the 3 p.m. finale.
     Rochester defeated Union, 104-47, in Saturday's opening game.