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Shephard Guides Redhawks to 92-82 Victory at Sacramento State

Freshman Sylvia Shephard has put together back-to-back career-best games.

Opens in a new window Box Score: SU 92, CSUS 82
Shephard Guides Redhawks to 92-82 Victory at Sacramento StateShephard Guides Redhawks to 92-82 Victory at Sacramento State
Freshman Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) had a career-best performance to guide the Seattle University women's basketball team to a 92-82 victory at Sacramento State Friday evening. The Redhawk newcomer scored a game-leading 22 points, and tallied eight boards, six steals and five assists in a dominate off the bench performance.

"We knew it was going to be an up-and-down game, but I was really pleased with our 71 rebounds," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "Anytime you can get a win on the road, it is a very positive thing."

The Redhawks had their best rebounding performance of the year, outrebounding CSUS 71-37.  The Redhawks scored 50 points in the paint, 27 second chance points and the bench, led by Shephard, scored 36 points.

"It was really nice to see Sylvia step up. She didn't quite hit 50 percent, but I thought she gained a lot of confidence from this game and I think our as a whole team did. We made mistakes, but overall our team really grew tonight," commented Bonvicini.

Sacramento State opened the game pushing a fast paced tempo, behind a successful full court press. The Hornets were sending in routine passes inside to their posts, allowing them to go on an early 13-4 run behind six points and an assist from forward Kylie Kuhns. Kuhns would go on to be Sacramento State's top scorer with 20 points.

"I didn't want to panic and I didn't want the players to panic," Bonvicini said on Sacramento State's early dominance. "We had to understand how fast the game was going to be and then take the good quality shot. I think once we did that, changed some players and hit some shots, it changed the tempo of the game."

Despite turning over the ball over four times in the first four-and-a-half minutes, the Redhawks kept the game close, 13-7. Salena Dickerson (Federal Way, Wash.) broke the ice after back-to-back SU turnovers to slam in a trey from the top of the key. Shephard would then receive a pass inside from Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.), who stole it near the timeline, to score five straight Redhawk points.

Ashley Ward (Irvine, Wash.) would come in the game and put in a pair of charity stripe baskets to give Seattle U their first lead of the game, 16-15, at 13:57. The Redhawks would then go on a 7-2 run with 12:31 remaining in the half.

As play progressed in the first half, the Seattle U began to find their rhythm inside the paint, but CSUS' post players continued to find a way to get the ball inside and cut down the Redhawks lead. Sacramento State's Kuhns proved to be a scoring threat, as she collected 10 points in the first 11 minutes of the game.

Shephard was lights out from three-point land, scoring 15 points in the first half alone, behind a trio of three-pointers. She would prove to be the difference maker in the first half for the Redhawks and in the game.

"I felt good out there," said Shephard. "We worked as a team and we were able to pull together and get the win. I felt comfortable and really worked hard on my shot in practice this week. I am glad we were able to get the win today."

The Redhawks would establish as high as an eight-point lead, but miscues and turnovers allowed the Hornets to come back and make it a 39-38 contest with 6:10 remaining. Kerfoot would go on to score five straight points at a crucial time, providing the Redhawks with a six-point lead. 

SU would go on a 4-0 run with under four minutes left in the half, but missed first chance opportunities and the Hornets scoring three consecutive baskets from three-point range made it a 49-48 game with 1:22 to go put SU on their heels again.

Behind a trey from senior Julee Christianson (Missoula, Mont.) and a pair of Tatiana Heck (Lynnwood, Wash.) baskets from the free throw line, SU went into the locker room up 56-50 at halftime.

In the second half, Sacramento State came out and went on an immediate 4-0 run, but the Redhawks were able to react to and gain their bearings minutes into the final half of regulation.

At the 15-minute mark, Amani Butler (Corona, Calif.) made it a 68-57 game. Butler's layin would ignite a 12-0 run for SU, including seeing back-to-back baskets from freshman Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.). Seattle U's offensive run forced the Hornet bench to call a timeout, but the break in play did not faze the Redhawks significantly.

CSUS guard Alle Moreno would send in a three-pointer from the top of the key at 10:20, to kick off an offensive momentum swing in favor of the Hornets. After establishing a 19-point lead at the 12:59 minute mark, Sacramento State took worked to chop down the Redhawks' lead by taking advantage of missed SU opportunities to make it an 81-72 game heading inside eight minutes.

The Hornets would continue to close in on SU's lead, making it as close as 81-74 6:43 remaining. Shephard would send in a shot from three-point land, but the ball bounced back to her and she was able to send in a second chance basket. Heck and Shephard's respective layups would keep it a 10-point game, but Sacramento State began to play much more aggressive with less than five minutes to go in the game.

Inside three minutes, SU's 87-80 lead looked to be threatened by a pushing Hornet offense, but Seattle U was able to remain collected. On their ensuing possessions they were able to take full advantage of the shot clock to make it a 92-82 game behind four Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) points inside the final minute of play.

Five players scored in double figures for the Redhawks, with Dickerson and Butler posting double-doubles. Dickerson would score 14 points and tally a game-leading 14 boards, while Butler had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Brown had 13 points and a game-best six steals, while Kerfoot rounded out the top scorers with 12 points and eight assists.

 "I think today's win really helps us going into Sunday," concluded Bonvicini. "It is going to be a completely different challenge going against Santa Clara, but I think our team is playing with confidence. Rebounding was unbelievable tonight and we just have to grow as a team and improve."

Seattle U will remain in Northern California, heading next to Santa Clara to face the Broncos in a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday, Dec. 19, in the Leavey Center.