Efficient Antritt leads Rio in rout of Pomeroys

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Sore feet may have restricted the amount of action that University of Rio Grande junior forward Harlei Antritt saw during Saturday morning's get together with St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, but it's safe to say the Newark, Ohio native made the most of the playing time she did receive.
     Antritt scored a career-high 18 points and equaled a career-high with 13 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the court, leading the 14th-ranked RedStorm to a 110-80 rout of the visiting Pomeroys in River States Conference women's basketball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Five of Antritt's teammates also scored 12 points or more for Rio Grande, which ran its overall record to 13-4 and its league mark to 6-0 with a second consecutive victory.
     SMWC suffered a second straight loss, falling to 8-7 overall and 3-2 in the RSC.
     Antritt's efficient performance also included a team-high two blocked shots. She finished 6-for-11 from the floor and 6-for-7 at the foul line, while eight of her 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass.
     Rio Grande also got 17 points from junior Lexi Woods (Waverly, OH), 15 points apiece from the senior trio of Reagan Willingham (Ashville, OH), Aleea Crites (Parkersburg, WV) and Lavender Ward (Charleston, WV) and 12 points from junior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH).
     Junior Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) handed out a game-high 10 assists and tied for team-high honors with two steals, while Crites also had two steals and two blocked shots.
     Ward and sophomore Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) also had two steals each in the winning effort.
     Outside of a 2-2 tie inside the game's opening minute, Rio Grande led from start to finish and enjoyed an 11-point cushion at the intermission.
     SMWC, which played a second straight contest without the services of its leading scorer, Madison Fueger (14 ppg, 8 rpg), due to an injury, was still within 10 points, 67-57, after a bucket by Brooklyn Jones with 5:09 left in the third quarter, but the RedStorm responded with a 12-0 run over the next 2-1/2 minutes and never looked back.
     The Pomeroys got no closer than 19 points on four separate occasions over the final 12 minutes of the contest and Rio's largest lead of the day came with its final margin of victory.
     The RedStorm shot 56.4 percent overall (44-for-78), 84.2 percent from the foul line (16-for-19) and enjoyed a whopping 47-31 edge in rebounding.
     Rio, which had all 14 players in uniform see action and 11 of the 14 score at least two points, also registered 30 assists on its 44 made buckets.
     St. Mary-of-the-Woods shot 41 percent overall (31-for-75), but finished just 7-for-24 from three-point range (29.2%).
     The Pomeroys also committed 21 turnovers which led directly to 31 points for the RedStorm.
     Jones led five double-figure scorers for SMWC with 19 points, while Irye Gomez netted 15 points and Aubrey Burgess had a career-high 13 points along with a team-high three steals.
     Destiny Thomas totaled 11 points in addition to a team-high seven rebounds and six assists in a losing cause, while Allyson Hardiek finished with 10 points and a game-high three blocked shots.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Tuesday evening when it hosts Midway University.
     Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.