Rio women hold off Cougars, 79-72

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande did itself a big favor by getting off to a good start and then took care of business at the free throw line late to hang on for a hard-earned victory.
     Head coach David Smalley's squad never trailed after getting off to a 7-0 led and then went 14-for-16 at the foul line over the final 8-plus minutes to preserve a 79-72 win over Spring Arbor (Mich.) University in the final round of the Woods Lumber Classic, Tuesday afternoon, at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande, ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll, improved to 12-1 with a third consecutive win.
     Spring Arbor, which had a six-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 12-2 as a result of the loss.
     The Cougars found themselves down 7-0 just two minutes into the contest, but methodically chipped away and eventually forged a 27-all deadlock after Alayna Kulesza drained a three-pointer with 5:37 left before halftime.
     The visitors, though, were never able to put themselves in front.
     Rio Grande responded with a 12-2 run and took a 10-point lead, 39-29, following a bucket by junior Sophia Kline (Sugar Grove, OH) with 44 seconds remaining before halftime.
     Spring Arbor collected the first two baskets of the second stanza to cut an eight-point deficit in half, but got no closer the rest of the way.
     The RedStorm lead grew to 11 points by the close of the third quarter and remained between six and 10 points throughout the final period.
     Spurred by its fourth quarter prowess, Rio finished the game 20-for-22 from the foul line (90.9%). The RedStorm also shot just over 49 percent overall (28-for-57).
     Freshman Allie Ellyson (Glenville, WV), who was coming off a career-high 20 points in a win over Cornerstone just a few hours earlier, led the winning effort for a second straight day with 18 points. She also tied for the team lead with four steals.
     Sophomore Payton Johnson (Peebles, OH) had 16 points, seniors Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) and Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) netted 12 points each and Kline tallied 10 points along with a game-best 13 rebounds and career-high six blocks.
     Garcia Perez also had eight assists and four steals in the win.
     Megan Zeitz had 15 points and 11 rebounds in a losing cause for Spring Arbor, while Emma Smieska tallied 15 points of her own and Ashley Weller had 13 points and three steals.
     Madison Sonsini completed the quartet of double-digit scorers for the Cougars with 10 points.
     SAU shot 46.7 percent from distance (7-for-15), but was 29-for-70 overall (41.4%) and just 7-for-13 at the foul line (53.8%).
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday when it resumes River States Conference play at Kentucky Christian University.
     Tip time is set for 1 p.m.