RedStorm Women Set to Battle UPike
RIO GRANDE, Ohio – The University of Rio Grande women’s basketball team returns to Mid-South Conference action on Thursday night when they hit the road to face the University of Pikeville at the East Kentucky Expo Center.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Rio Grande (14-5 overall, 3-4 MSC) could not build upon an impressive first half last Saturday, as they fell to No. 8 Campbellsville, 80-64, at the Newt Oliver Arena.
The RedStorm closed the first half on an 8-2 run and cut the deficit to just 36-33, but the Tigers tightened up their defense in the second half and maintained a comfortable lead throughout to put Rio Grande away.
Limited to just 35 percent shooting from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc, the 64 points scored by the RedStorm was a season-low for head coach David Smalley’s squad. The loss also marked the fourth setback in as many outings against ranked opponents this season – all of whom happen to hail from the Mid-South Conference.
Junior guard Brianna Thomas (Maplewood, NJ) scored a team-high 22 points to go along with six rebounds, six assists and five steals, while sophomore forward Sarah Bonar (Hartford, OH) had 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds and freshman forward Alexis Payne (Deep Water, WV) chipped in with 11 points.
Thomas continues to lead the RedStorm with 19.6 points and 5.6 assists per game, while freshman forward Brooke Marcum (Vinton, OH) is pulling down a team-leading 8.6 rebounds per contest. Bonar averages 16.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Pikeville (7-11 overall, 2-5 MSC) pushed No. 22 Cumberlands (KY) to the brink on Saturday afternoon, but came up just short, 90-87, on the road.
The Bears saw four players reach double figures in points, led by Callisha Johnson with 25 points.
Cheyenne Madden netted 18 points, while Khalilah Quigley and Patrice Tongue had 17 and 12 points, respectively.
Johnson leads Pikeville with 19.3 points and 2.9 assists per game, while Madden is collecting 6.6 boards per contest.
Live audio of the game will be available at www.ihigh.com/redstorm, with pregame beginning at 5:45 p.m
