RedStorm shakes off slow start, cruises past Webber International

Rio Grande Sports Information
     BABSON PARK, Fla. - Senior Ella Skeens (Chillicothe, OH) scored 18 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and had a pair of steals to lead the University of Rio Grande to an 84-71 win over Webber International University, Tuesday night, in non-conference women's basketball action at the Sabbagh Athletic Center.
     Three other players reached double figures for the RedStorm (7-1), who were ranked No. 16 in the latest NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll.
     Sophomore Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) netted 17 points in the victory, while senior Reagan Willingham (Ashville, OH) and sophomore Natalie Kalaydjiev (Vienna, Austria) scored 11 points each.
     Kalaydjiev's total represented a new career-high mark.
     Rio Grande did its damage over the course of the middle two quarters, outscoring their hosts, 47-34.
     The RedStorm shot just 36.7 percent overall (29-for-79), including a 5-for-19 showing from three-point range (26.3%) and also hurt its cause with 26 turnovers.
     However, head coach David Smalley's club connected on 21 of its 25 free throw attempts (84.0%) and enjoyed a commanding 66-37 advantage in rebounding.
     All 13 players in uniform saw action for Rio and all but four scored at least two points.
     Junior guard Lavender Ward (Charleston, WV) handed out four assists in the winning effort.
     Webber International (1-7), a member of the NAIA's The Sun Conference, led for just 1:41 in the contest, including 26-22 after scoring six of the first eight points in the second period, but the Warriors found themselves staring at a 48-39 halftime deficit.
     WIU was down by just four points, 57-53, after a jumper by Jermasia Klopsis with 3:44 left in the third quarter, but got no closer the rest of the way as Rio finished the period on a 10-1 run and continued to pull away in the final stanza.
     The RedStorm led by as many as 21 points, 84-63, with 2:46 left to play, but the Warriors scored the game's final eight points to make things a tad more respectable at the end.
     Webber shot just 36.5 percent itself (27-for-74), while also going 3-for-14 from three-point range (21.4%) and 14-for-21 (66.7%) at the foul line.
     Klopsis was one of three Warriors to finish with 15 points, joining teammates Samantha Pacheco and Jaida Burgess.
     Dasia Wandick also had 10 points and eight rebounds in a losing cause, while Pacheco and Alexandria Lemmon both had three assists and Triniti Lee recorded six of her team's 10 blocked shots.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action next Tuesday when it resumes River States Conference play at Point Park University.
     Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. in Pittsburgh, Pa.