Darnell, Jordan lead Rio past Red Wolves

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RICHMOND, Ind. - Kaylee Darnell and Jasmine Jordan have become quite a lethal combination for the University of Rio Grande women's basketball team this season.
     In Wednesday night's get together with River States Conference East Division rival Indiana University East, the duo led the RedStorm's effort towards claiming yet another victim.
     Darnell, a senior from Wheelersburg, Ohio scored 26 of her career-high 36 points in the second half, while Jordan - a freshman from Ashland, Ky. - finished with 25 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in an eventual 100-81 triumph over the Red Wolves at the Student Activities and Events Center.
     Senior Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) added the first double-double of her collegiate career, finishing with 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the victory, while freshman Payton Johnson (Peebles, OH) had 11 points.
     Rio Grande, which learned it had slipped to No. 11 in the latest NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll earlier in the day, improved to 14-3 overall and 4-1 in league play with a third consecutive win.
     IU East dropped to 5-11 overall and 1-3 in the RSC after suffering a sixth straight loss on the heels of a five-game win streak.
     Rio Grande scored the game's first eight points and led from start to finish.
     The RedStorm's five-point edge at the close of the opening stanza grew to as many as 19 points before settling at 15 points, 48-33, by halftime.
     The Red Wolves kept coming in third quarter, closing the gap to nine points on three separate occasion, including 61-52 after a pair of Taylor Farris free throws with 1:33 left in the period.
     IUE was still within striking distance after a three-pointer by Peyton Wells made it 70-60 with 8:47 remaining, but Rio Grande responded with an 11-2 run over the next two minutes to push the advantage back to 19 points and take control once and for all.
     Darnell had seven points and Jordan the other four in the spurt and the Red Wolves got no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
     A three-pointer by Darnell with 3:10 remaining gave the RedStorm their largest lead of night, 94-71.
     Darnell scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, going 6-for-9 overall, 4-for-6 from three-point range and connecting on both of her free throw attempts.
     Jordan had nine points of her own in the final period and teamed with Darnell to score all but six of Rio's points down the stretch.
     Garcia Perez did her damage in a backup role to senior guard Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH), who was limited to just 14 minutes of playing time after suffering a foot injury in Sunday's win over Alice Lloyd. Her assist and rebound totals both represented career-highs.
     Rio Grande finished 39-for-85 overall (45.9%), 8-for-21 from three-point range (38.1%) and 14-for-20 at the foul line (70.0%).
     The RedStorm also enjoyed a whopping 56-38 edge in rebounding.
     IU East shot 44 percent overall (31-for-70), but went just 5-for-21 from distance (23.8%).
     Wells led the Red Wolves with 29 points to go along with six rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot.
     Ellysa Morris added 12 points in the loss, while Gracie Kramer had 11 points and five assists and Trinity Archey finished with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
     Farris, IUE's leading scorer entering the game, was limited to the two third quarter free throws which got the deficit under 10 points.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday when it travels to Owensboro, Ky. for a meeting with Brescia University.
     Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. EST.