Rio women cut down Mighty Oaks in battle of RSC unbeatens

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - For two quarters, Saturday afternoon's River States Conference women's basketball showdown between the University of Rio Grande and Oakland City University - the last two unbeatens in league play - lived up to the hype.
     The second half, though, was dramatically lopsided in favor of the host RedStorm.
     Head coach David Smalley's outscored the Mighty Oaks, 40-23, over the final two quarters en route to a 79-58 victory at a raucous Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande, ranked No. 17 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 poll, won for a sixth straight time and improved to 17-4 overall and 10-0 in league play.
     The win also gives the RSC East Division-leading RedStorm sole possession of the top spot in the overall conference standings and the inside track toward earning a national tournament berth should it not capture the RSC Tournament championship next month.
     Oakland City, which sits atop the RSC West Division, had a six-game winning streak snapped and fell to 12-6 overall and 8-1 against conference foes.
     The Mighty Oaks found themselves enjoying a 35-30 lead after a bucket by Tabatha Klem off of an offensive rebound with 2:55 left in the opening half, but Rio Grande - which trailed by as many as six points at the close of the first quarter - reeled off nine straight points before the break and enjoyed a four-point cushion at the intermission.
     The hosts kept coming in the third period, outscoring Oakland City, 20-6, to open up a 59-41 cushion heading to the final stanza.
     The Mighty Oaks went 2-for-17 overall (11.8%) and 0-for-3 from three-point range in the quarter, while also committing seven turnovers.
     Oakland City got no closer than 14 points at any stage of the fourth quarter and trailed by as many as 23 points, 72-49, after a pair of free throws by Rio junior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) with 5:00 left to play.
     Darnell poured in a game-high 27 points to lead the winning effort, going 9-for-14 overall, 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc and 5-for-6 at the free throw line.
     Fellow junior Lexi Woods (Waverly, OH) finished with 16 points - 10 of which came in the second half - and a team-high eight rebounds, while seniors Reagan Willingham (Ashville, OH) and Aleea Crites (Parkersburg, WV) tossed in 11 points each.
     Junior Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) added nine assists and three steals for the RedStorm, who shot 44.6 percent overall (29-for-65) and 80 percent at the foul line (16-for-20).
     The Mighty Oaks enjoyed a 45-44 edge in rebounding, but went just 21-for-68 overall (30.9%), 3-for-22 from beyond the three-point arc (13.6%) and 13-for-22 at the free throw line (59.1%).
     Oakland City also hurt its own cause with 24 turnovers
     Klem had a team-high 11 points in the loss, while Jalaya Dowell had nine points and shared game-high honors with eight rebounds.
     Marissa Austin also had nine points and three steals for OCU.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action next Saturday when it travels to Indiana University East for a 1 p.m. game.