Rio women throttle Golden Bears

Rio Grande Sports Information
     BECKLEY, W.Va. - The Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center has long been a house of horrors for veteran University of Rio Grande women's basketball head coach David Smalley.
     Last year, Smalley's team outlasted rival West Virginia University-Tech for its first-ever win in the legendary facility.
     On Tuesday night, the RedStorm appeared to officially exercise the demons residing in the Golden Bears' home building once and for all.
     Rio Grande connected on 16 of their first 18 field goal attempts and never looked back, overwhelming its host to the tune of a 120-71 victory in the River States Conference opener for both teams.
     The RedStorm, ranked No. 7 in the latest NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, improved to 7-0 as a result of the win.
     WVU-Tech dropped to 2-4 with the loss.
     The Golden Bears were buried from the outset on Tuesday night.
     Rio Grande finished 18-for-23 from the floor (78.3%) and led 42-17 at the close of the opening quarter.
     The RedStorm's onslaught continued in the second period on 9-for-14 shooting (64.3%) and their halftime advantage stood a 67-34.
     The intermission did little - if any - to stop Rio, which went 10-for-17 from the floor (58.8%) and extended its cushion to 47 points, 99-52, entering the final period.
     Incredibly, the RedStorm also hit 10 of their 17 field goal attempts over the final 10 minutes and enjoyed their largest lead of the night at 55 points when a layup by senior Jocelyn Abraham (Exchange, WV) with 8:43 left to play made it 107-52.
     Rio Grande shot 66 percent overall (47-for-71), including nine three-pointers, and was 17-for-18 at the free throw line (94.4%).
     The RedStorm also enjoyed a whopping 37-20 edge in rebounding and committed just 11 turnovers.
     All 13 players in uniform for Rio saw action and 11 scored.
     Junior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) led the RedStorm's offensive buzzsaw with a career-high 31 points on 13-for-16 shooting. She also had a game-high four steals.
     Junior Harlei Antritt (Newark, OH) had a season-high 14 points, while senior Reagan Willingham (Ashville, OH) and Abraham added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Abraham also pulled down a game-best seven rebounds.
     Junior Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) nearly finished with a double-double by scoring nine points and handing out a career-high 10 assists.
     WVU-Tech shot 37 percent overall (25-for-67), 33 percent from distance (9-for-27) and went just 12-for-19 at the free throw line (63.2%).
     Alexis Sexton led the Golden Bears with 18 points, while Marquesia Heidt added 15 points and a team-high five assists and Emily Sharkey tossed in 13 points off the bench.
     Alva Hedrich, who entered the game as Tech's leading scorer (13.2 ppg) and rebounder (12.4 rpg), was limited to eight points and a team-best five rebounds.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Friday night when it tangles with top-ranked Campbellsville (Ky.) University - the team which ended its national tournament run last season - as part of "The Show" at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort and Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn.
     Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m.