Rio women cruise past Grenadiers

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - It took some late-game heroics on Tuesday night for the University of Rio Grande to pull out a road win at Midway University.
     No such drama was needed in Saturday afternoon's meeting with Indiana University Southeast.
     The RedStorm piled up 31 first quarter points and never looked back in a 107-72 rout of the Grenadiers in River States Conference women's basketball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande, ranked No. 11 in the latest NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, improved to 17-2 overall and 9-0 in conference play with a fourth straight win.
     IU Southeast dropped to 12-6 overall and 5-4 inside the RSC with the loss - the ninth in 11 all-time meetings with Rio.
     The Grenadiers, who were playing without the services of their leading scorer, Emmy Ralph (21.6 ppg), stayed close early and found themselves down just 18-12 after a driving layup by Sierra Graham with 4:11 left in the opening quarter, but Rio Grande reeled off 13 straight points to close out the period and take a 31-12 advantage.
     The RedStorm's lead twice reached 20 points in the first three minutes of the second stanza, but IUS used a 10-2 run of its own to pull within 44-33 after a pair of Lauren Lambdin free throws with 2:57 remaining in the half.
     Rio responded by putting its foot on the gas and closed the half on a 15-1 scoring spurt to open up a 25-point lead at the intermission.
     IUS got no closer the rest of the way and trailed by as many as 46 points, 102-56, after a bucket by Rio freshman Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) with 4:05 left in the game.
     All 13 players who suited up for Rio Grande saw action and 11 scored.
     Senior Ella Skeens (Chillicothe, OH), the reigning RSC Player of the Week, led a quartet of double-digit scorers for the RedStorm with 23 points. She also had a game-high 11 rebounds and handed out four assists.
     Sophomore Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) had 17 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in the winning effort, while Grinstead netted 12 points and sophomore Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) added 10 points, six assists and three steals.
     The RedStorm also got a game-best seven assists from junior Lavender Ward (Charleston, WV).
     Rio Grande finished 42-for-90 from the floor (46.7%) and 16-for-19 at the foul line (84.2%), while also tallying 31 assists on their 42 made baskets and enjoying a whopping 63-34 edge in rebounding.
     IU Southeast went 24-for-70 from the field (34.3%), including 7-for-24 from three-point range (29.2%), and was 17-for-22 at the foul line (77.3%).
     Leah Miller led the Grenadiers with 23 points, while Alex Maher had 12 points and nine rebounds and Lambdin totaled 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Thursday night when it opens a two-game weekend road trip at Brescia University.
     Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. EDT in Owensboro, Ky.