RedStorm blitz mistake-prone Bulldogs

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - After Union (Ky.) College committed as many turnovers as it had points during Saturday's 104-47 loss to Rochester (Mich.) University in the opening round of the Woods Lumber Classic, things only got worse for the Bulldogs against the University of Rio Grande in the final round a few hours later.
     The host RedStorm tallied more points off of UC turnovers than the Bulldogs scored points altogether in a lopsided 116-44 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande, ranked No. 9 in the NAIA preseason coaches' poll, improved to 2-0 with the win.
     Union dropped to 0-2 in its season-opening weekend.
     The Bulldogs finished with 32 miscues, which led directly to 48 Rio Grande points.
     Further complicating matters for UC was a 16-for-48 overall shooting performance (33.3%), which also included a 9-for-31 showing from three-point range (29.0%), and a 3-for-12 outing at the free throw line (25.0%).
     Rio Grande also enjoyed a whopping 50-19 advantage in rebounding.
     The RedStorm needed less than two minutes to score the game's first 10 points and never looked back, leading by 26 points at the close of the opening quarter and by 40 points, 67-27, at halftime.
     The cushion continued to grow over the final two periods, reaching 61 points at the end of the third quarter and as many as 74 points late in the contest.
     All 13 players in uniform for head coach David Smalley's squad played - none more than 21 minutes - and all 13 scored.
     Junior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) led a quartet of double-digit scorers for Rio with 23 points, while senior Reagan Willingham (Ashville, OH) had 16 points and junior newcomer Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) netted 15 on 7-for-7 shooting to go along with nine assists and four steals.
     Senior Lavender Ward (Charleston, WV) added 11 points and a team-best five steals, while junior Harlei Antritt (Newark, OH) had a game-high seven rebounds off the bench.
     The RedStorm shot a blistering 61 percent from the floor overall (46-for-75) and was 9-for-18 from three-point range (50.0%).
     Ja'Naia Moran had nine points, four rebounds and two steals to lead Union, while Claire Belcher also had four rebounds, Madison Cox had a team-best three assists and McKenzi Himes also had two steals.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Friday evening against Taylor (Ind.) University in the opening round of the Bevo Francis Invitational.
     Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.