Jan. 30, 2008

Stats

ANGOLA, Ind. - The Bulldog women's basketball team might want to look into scheduling Tri-State more than twice in the future as they seem to bring the best out of Adrian's offense after a 79-73 win over the Thunder on Wednesday night sweeping the season series and improving to 6-11 overall and 4-5 in the MIAA. Earlier this season, Adrian scored a season-high 90 points in their home opener against TSU. Adrian is averaging 62.6 points per game this season but against Tri-State averaged 84.5 points in two wins.

Four players who all play minutes in the frontcourt scored in double figures for the Bulldogs led by freshman Megan Bouwens with 16 points. She was just two points shy of her season-high and also grabbed six boards in 23 minutes off the bench. Fellow benchmate JaLisha Belle scored in double digits for just the second time this season with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Belle also grabbed five rebounds in her 18 minutes of court time.

Sophomore Kim Olech shook off two poor games with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. She played 19 minutes and also grabbed two offensive boards. Senior Nichole Roose scored in double figures for the first time in five games with 11 points and was 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Roose grabbed six boards and recorded two steals in 23 minutes.

Adrian faced a barrage in the first 4:53 of the game as Tri-State raced out to a 17-6 lead on a Kristen Julian layup. Tri-State made seven of their first 10 shots to set the tone early. Adrian responded by scoring the next 13 points to take a 19-17 lead at the 9:13 mark on a pair of free throws from Bouwens. There were six ties and five lead changes in total in the first half as Adrian took a 38-37 lead into halftime after a pair of Roose free throws with 22 seconds to go in the half. Adrian's bench outscored the Thunder bench, 30-0, in the opening 20 minutes.

Adrian led for a large portion of the second half after an initial jumper by Sarah Howe gave Tri-State a 39-38 lead just into the second half. The Bulldogs led all the way until the 5:43 mark when Tri-State tied the game at 64-64 on a pair of Howe free throws. Roose hit a big three-pointer on the next possession and Adrian never trailed the rest of the way. Tri-State could get no closer than three points for the remainder of the contest. The Bulldogs made their final eight free throws in the last 5:43 to seal the win.

Howe led Tri-State with a career-high 31 points and Julian chipped in 20. AC shot 46.2 percent overall (30-of-65) and were 15-of-19 at the line including 9-of-10 in the second half. The Bulldogs had 11 steals and 17 assists on their 30 field goals.