RedStorm pulls away from Grenadiers, reach title game

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - You can count the times that the University of Rio Grande has faced adversity this season - something that a 28-1 record and No. 8 ranking strongly attests to.
     But when adversity reared its ugly head in Saturday afternoon's River States Conference Women's Basketball semifinal against Indiana University Southeast, head coach David Smalley's club answered the call.
     The RedStorm saw a double-digit lead sliced to just three points midway through the third quarter before pulling away down the stretch for an 89-68 victory over the Grenadiers at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande, the tourney's No. 1 seed from the East Division and the top seed overall, improved to 29-1 with a 20th straight victory and earned a spot in Tuesday night's title game against West Division No. 1 seed Brescia, which bounced East Division No. 2 Shawnee State in Saturday's other semifinal.
     IU Southeast, the No. 2 seed from the West Division, finished its season at 17-13.
     The Grenadiers found themselves in front, 22-17, after a jumper by Jesse Ledgerwood with 1:45 left in the first quarter, but Rio Grande answered with a 23-4 run to open up a 40-26 cushion with 2:04 remaining before half.
     Southeast - unlike many of the RedStorm's previous opponents - didn't crack under the pressure and, in fact, reversed the momentum on the hosts.
     A layup by Ledgerwood with with 6:16 to play in the third period got the Grenadiers within 48-45 and a three-pointer by Morgan Roberts with 1:13 had the visitors as close as 57-53.
     The fourth quarter, however, was all Rio Grande.
     The RedStorm opened the final stanza on a 15-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by freshman Alyssa Baker (Marietta, OH), to take a 72-55 lead with 6:26 left to play.
     IU Southeast failed to get any closer than 12 points the rest of the day and Rio enjoyed its largest advantage of 23 points when a three-pointer by sophomore Payton Johnson (Peebles, OH) with just a minute left made it 89-66.
     Rio Grande shot 42 percent overall (35-for-83), but was just 5-for-24 from distance (20.8%) and 14-for-21 from the foul line (66.7%).
     The RedStorm survived, though, by outrebounding the Grenadiers, 51-40, in addition to committing just seven turnovers and turning 21 IUS miscues into 27 points.
     All five Rio starters finished in double figures.
     Senior Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) led the quintet with 21 points, while junior Sophia Kline (Sugar Grove, OH) had 19 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots and freshman Allie Ellyson had 16 points, five assists and three steals.
     Johnson finished with 11 points and senior Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) had 10 points, 10 assists and three steals.
     IU Southeast actually shot the ball slightly better overall, going 29-for-68 (42.6%), and was significantly better from long range after connecting on 10 of 30 three-point tries (33.3%).
     Grace Stapleton led IUS with 16 points and 10 assists, while Ledgerwood and Roberts tossed in 15 points apiece and Ella Brown netted 10 points.
     Linzie Wernert had a team-high 11 rebounds for the Grenadiers.
     Tuesday's Rio Grande-Brescia championship game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Newt Oliver Arena.