Rio women blast Bruins

Rio Grande Sports Information
     WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The University of Rio Grande pulled away over the second half of the opening quarter and cruised to a 108-53 win over Carolina University, Tuesday night, in non-conference women's basketball action at Williams Gymnasium.
     The RedStorm wrapped up a three-game, week-long southern road swing with a third straight victory.
     Carolina dropped to 0-4 with the loss.
     Just over seven minutes into the game, the Bruins found themselves down just 15-10, but Rio Grande finished out the opening quarter on a 18-2 run and the rout was on.
     The RedStorm continued to pull away by also outscoring their hosts in each of the final three periods and enjoyed their largest lead of the contest with the 55-point margin of victory.
     Eleven different players scored in the win for Rio, including four who reached double figures.
     Freshman Allie Ellyson (Glenville, WV) netted a career-high 19 points to lead the way, while sophomore Payton Johnson (Peebles, OH) tossed in 16 and the senior duo of Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) and Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) netted 15 points each.
     Garcia Perez also had 11 assists and three steals, while junior Sophia Kline (Sugar Grove, OH) had 12 rebounds.
     The RedStorm shot just over 51 percent for the game (38-for-74), while also going 24-for-33 at the foul line (72.7%).
     Rio also recorded a 54-36 edge in rebounding, a 58-34 advantage in points in the paint and scored 31 points off 29 Carolina turnovers.
     The Bruins shot just 30 percent overall (21-for-69), while going 2-for-15 from three-point range (13.3%) and 9-for-19 at the foul line (47.4%).
     Sy-Marieona Williams and Dearia Page scored 10 points each to lead Carolina, while Williams also had two assists and three steals.
     Mya Smith narrowly missed a double-double for the Bruins with eight points and a team-best eight rebounds.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday afternoon when it travels to Milligan (Tenn.) University.
     Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.