After a sluggish first half, the Seattle University women's basketball team ramped up the pressure on both ends of the floor after halftime, outscoring Colorado State by 21 points in the second half on its way to a 61-43 victory Sunday afternoon at the Connolly Center.
Talisa Rhea (Juneau, Alaska) scored 16 points to lead the Redhawks, plus she pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists. Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) notched her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, including six offensive boards, while Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) contributed 10 points and Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) added nine points and seven rebounds to the winning effort.
After Rhea hit two free throws seven minutes into the game to force the fourth tie at 10-10, Colorado State scored five unanswered points to pull out to a 15-10 advantage. Sowell's layup snapped a five-minute scoreless string for the Redhawks, but the Rams extended their lead to nine points with a 9-1 scoring run.
Rhea hit a running layup with three minutes left in the first half to stop the Ram scoring run, and Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) made an off-balance three-point shot just as the shot clock hit zero to pull the Redhawks to within four at 24-20. After Kim Mestdagh hit her own jumper with the shot clock running out, Shephard hit a three-pointer to cut the Colorado State lead to three at 26-23 at halftime.
Down 29-26 four minutes into the second half, Seattle U went on a 14-0 scoring run over the next four-and-a-half minutes, led by seven points from Rhea. Kim Mestdagh hit a layup to keep the margin at 11 points halfway through the second half, but the Redhawks scored eight straight points, helped by three steals, to put the game away at 52-33 with 6:50 left in regulation.
"I thought we did not come out with the aggressiveness that I wanted, and it starts on defense, as they were shooting 44 percent in the first half. In the second half, we switched to a man (defense), we were much more aggressive, we had a lot of stops, forced some turnovers, and we got our offense going. It was much better," Seattle U head coach Joan Bonvicini said.
Seattle U shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the field and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free throw line. The Redhawks forced Colorado State into 24 turnovers, which led to 29 points for the home team, and held the Rams to 5-of-22 (22.7%) shooting from the field in the second half. Seattle U also won the rebounding battle, 36-31.
Colorado State (4-11) was led by Kara Spotton, who scored 11 points, and Kim Mestdagh, who finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, and three steals. With the win, Seattle U has now earned its second four-game winning streak of the season, and the Redhawks have won eight of their last 10 games.
"I don't look at streaks as much as I look at how we get better every day, so it's doing the little things, keeping everyone on point, setting goals daily, and not being completely satisfied. The bar has been raised, and we want to continue to grow and get better," said Bonvicini. "In order for us to reach our goal of postseason, we have to be a good road team, and we have a challenge ahead of us."
Seattle University (10-6) will travel to Fresno, Calif., to face the Fresno State Bulldogs Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 12 noon. The Redhawks return home and welcome Chicago State to the Connolly Center next Saturday, Jan. 14, starting at 4 p.m. in the North Court.