LADY COUGARS 74   LADY PIONEERS 50

 

The Lady Cougars eased out an early lead in the first game of the afternoon as Asjah Harrell and De'Zah Lacy tossed in a bucket each, but the Lady Pioneers managed to score the final six points of the first quarter as Malea Robertson and Snowden Scott hit a 3-pointer each to slice the lead to 15-11 at the first stop.

 

The home team put their foot on the gas in the second quarter with an incredible defensive effort causing many turnovers on their way to putting the game completely out of reach by halftime. Kiersten Hudson came off the bench and sparked a 17-2 run with a pair of steals and layups while Harrell and Nicky Jones did the same to help the home team to a commanding 41-17 halftime lead.

 

The lead ballooned to a 40-point spread, 65-25 after three quarters and everyone in a Lady Cougar uniform got plenty of playing time the rest of the way as Cleveland State notched its first win in Conference play and kept their record spotless at 4-0. Emma Harig, Harrell and Jones along with Kyisha Dalton led the defensive charge with the much bigger Lady Pioneers in the paint.

 

"We still have a lot to work on and as a coach I am never satisfied, but overall it was a good effort by the girls and it is always nice to win a conference game and that is the big thing," explained Lady Cougar coach Evelyn Thompson. "It was a total team effort and it starts on the defensive end and we did a good job there. It was very physical inside and I thought Emma did a good job in there with the big girls. We got a chance to get everyone in the game and get them some playing time and that is always good."

 

Cleveland State will host Roane State in another big Conference matchup on Wednesday starting at 5:30.