Antritt sparks RedStorm past Oakland City

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - While Kaylee Darnell and Jasmine Jordan have grabbed much of the attention for the University of Rio Grande this season - and rightfully so - it was a veteran role player who grabbed the spotlight in the RedStorm's biggest game of the season to date.
     Harlei Antritt scored 12 of her career-high 20 points in the second half as Rio Grande erased a six-point second quarter deficit and posted an 85-74 win over Oakland City University, Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference play at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     The ninth-ranked RedStorm improved to 20-4 overall and 10-2 in league play with the win in a rematch of last season's conference tournament championship game.
     The Mighty Oaks, the top team in the RSC West Division, slipped to 15-8 overall and 10-2 in the RSC with the loss - their sixth in seven all-time meetings with Rio Grande.
     The RedStorm's victory also sets up a massive rematch on Tuesday night with rival Shawnee State University, which handed head coach David Smalley's squad one of its two league losses back on Jan. 4 in Portsmouth.
     The Bears are also 20-4 overall and 11-1 against conference foes after a win at home over Brescia University on Saturday.
     A Rio Grande win on Tuesday would likely produce a three-way tie between the RedStorm, Oakland City and Shawnee State for the RSC regular season championship and the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament - a deadlock in which Rio would hold the tiebreaker.
     Oakland City turned an 11-point first quarter deficit into a 47-41 lead when Ellen Meeringa canned a three-point goal to cap a 9-1 run with 36 seconds left before halftime.
     Rio Grande rallied after the break, though, and grabbed the lead for good when a pair of free throws by Jordan - a freshman from Ashland, Ky. - made it 54-52 with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter.
     The RedStorm carried a narrow 66-62 advantage into the final period, but scored 15 of the first 21 points in the final stanza to grab their largest lead of day, 80-68, after a bucket by Jordan with 1:28 left to play.
     Antritt had four of her eight fourth quarter points during the run.
     Rio equaled its 12-point lead at 81-69 when Antritt connected on one of two free throw attempts with 1:16 remaining and Oakland City got no closer than nine points on two occasions in the waning seconds.
     Jordan totaled 19 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots in the winning effort, while Darnell - a senior from Wheelersburg, Ohio - had 15 points and senior Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) handed out 10 assists and had two steals.
     Senior Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) had nine assists of her own for the RedStorm, who went 32-for-72 overall (44.4%) and 21-for-31 at the foul line (67.7%) while enjoying a 51-47 edge in rebounding.
     Oakland City shot just 34.6 percent overall (27-for-78) and 28.6 percent from beyond the three-point arc (8-for-28), while going just 12-for-20 at the charity stripe (60.0%) and committing 21 turnovers.
     Emilee Hope led the Mighty Oaks with 13 points and two blocked shots, while Marissa Austin had 11 points and Kyrisha Hay finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.
     Rhylan Kalb also had 10 points in a losing cause.
     Rio Grande's showdown with Shawnee State University will tip at approximately 8 p.m. following the conclusion of the men's game and the Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night introductions.