Jordan's career night helps Rio clobber Cougars

Rio Grande Sports Information
     BATAVIA, Ohio - University of Rio Grande freshman Jasmine Jordan did nothing to temper an already strong start to her post-high school career.
     The Ashland, Kentucky native - who was averaging just over 13 points and just under 12 rebounds per game over her first seven collegiate outings - had a career-high 26 points and 17 rebounds to lead the RedStorm in a 107-62 rout of the University of Cincinnati-Clermont, Friday night, in non-conference women's basketball action at the Student Activities Center.
     Rio Grande, ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, rebounded from a road loss at No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan and improved to 7-1 with the victory.
     UC Clermont, the No. 5 team in the most recent USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) Division II coaches' poll, dropped to 4-7 as a result of the loss.
     Jordan, who also tallied a team-best four steals and two blocked shots, was one of four players to reach double figures for the RedStorm.
     Senior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) added 20 points to the winning effort, while junior Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) netted 16 points and senior Harlei Antritt (Newark, OH) had 12.
     Senior Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) handed out a season-high 10 assists for Rio.
     Rio Grande closed out the first quarter on a 20-4 run to open up a 28-8 advantage and never looked back.
     Head coach David Smalley's squad pushed its lead to as many as 28 points late in the half before settling for a 21-point cushion, 49-28, at the intermission.
     The Cougars scored the opening bucket of the second half to slice the deficit to 19 points, but got no closer the rest of the way.
     Rio Grande led by as many as 30 points on three occasions inside the final 90 seconds of the third quarter and continued to pull away down the stretch, limiting their host to just one field goal (1-for-13) and 10 points in the final stanza.
     The RedStorm's largest lead of the night came with the final margin of victory.
     Rio Grande, which had 13 players see action and 10 get into the scoring column, finished 44-for-89 overall (49.4%) and tallied a season-high 36 assists. Behind Jordan's lead, the RedStorm also enjoyed a whopping 61-31 advantage in rebounding.
     UC Clermont connected on just 22 of its 64 field goal attempts (34.4%) and committed 27 turnovers which led directly to 40 Rio Grande points.
     Tyra Murphy led the Cougars with 23 points, while Olivia Crawford had 10 points and four assists and McKailia Hatton tossed in 10 points of her own.
     Bryanna Price narrowly missed a double-double outing, finishing with eight points, a team-best nine rebounds and two steals in a losing cause.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday night when it travels to Midway University for its River States Conference opener. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.