Pomeroys post controversial upset of Rio women

Rio Grande Sports Information
     ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. - If it wasn't an uncharacteristic 13-for-30 showing at the free throw line that did in the University of Rio Grande in its River States Conference women's basketball matchup with St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, a dramatic, controversial finish did.
     The host Pomeroys connected on a technical foul free throw with four seconds remaining for a 78-77 upset win over the No. 9-ranked RedStorm, Saturday afternoon, at the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center.
     St. Mary-of-the-Woods improved to 12-9 overall and evened its conference mark at 5-5 with the victory.
     Rio Grande slipped to 18-4 overall and 8-2 in the RSC as a result of the loss, dropping one game behind both Shawnee State University and Oakland City University in the league standings with an eye on claiming the conference regular season title and home court advantage throughout the upcoming RSC Championship Tournament.
     The RedStorm, who entered the game shooting 75 percent as a team from the foul line, shot a season-low 43.3 percent from the charity stripe, including a dismal 5-for-16 showing over the opening two quarters.
     Despite the free throw woes, Rio refused to fold its tent and go quietly into the night.
     Head coach David Smalley's squad found itself down by 10 points at halftime and by as many as 12 points, 59-47, after a jumper by SMWC's Destiny Thomas with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter.
     But the RedStorm mounted a rally, though, and eventually forged a 69-all deadlock after freshman Jasmine Jordan (Ashland, KY) hit one of two free throw attempts with 5:32 left in the game.
     The comeback effort came full circle when a layup by senior Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) gave Rio a 77-75 advantage with 1:12 remaining, but the Pomeroys re-tied the game at 77-all thanks to a pair of free throws by Brooklyn Jones with 18 seconds left.
     Rio Grande elected to play for the final shot and it appeared as if the Plan B would pay off when junior Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) connected with freshman Payton Johnson (Peebles, OH) for an apparent go-ahead layup with four seconds left.
     Grinstead, who was tripped up by two different SMWC defenders, was whistled for a traveling violation and the basket was waved off.
     To further complicate the situation, the Rio bench was assessed a technical foul for excessive celebration of what they thought was the go-head basket.
     Jones proceeded to hit one of two free throw attempts to give the Pomeroys the lead.
     The RedStorm fouled Diamond Bryant on the subsequent inbound play and both of her free throws were off the mark. Jordan rebounded the second miss and got the ball ahead to senior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH), who appeared to be fouled on her would-be game-winning half-court heave, but no whistle sounded and the home team celebrated its upset.
     Irye Gomez led four SMWC players in double figures with 19 points, while Thomas had 16 points and Jones finished with 15 points, 13 boards and six assists.
     Bryant tallied 12 points and had 10 rebounds in the winning effort.
     Jordan had 23 points and 16 rebounds to pace the RedStorm in the loss, while Darnell had 16 points and Williams finished with 10 points, four assists and three steals.
     Senior Maria Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) also had four assists and three steals in the loss.
     Rio Grande is slated to return to action on Tuesday night when it begins a three-game homestand against Midway University at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.