Sports
Thomas Leads Rio To Much-Needed Win Over St. Catharine
< < Back to thomas-leads-rio-much-needed-win-over-st-catharineBrianna Thomas led Rio Grande with 25 points Saturday as the RedStorm tried to re-rail their fast crashing train against the St. Catherine Patriots.
A resounding victory seemed the only remedy for a Rio team sinking in the Mid-South Conference. Thomas’s contributions helped the RedStorm earn just that, throttling St. Catharine 92-80.
The two-time MSC Player of the Week earned nearly half her points from the charity stripe. Thomas converted 12 of her 14 free throws. The performance comes after a dismal showing against Campbellsville in which Thomas scored just seven points after suffering a second-half knee injury.
Rio Grande also enjoyed the fruits of two double-doubles. Forward Brooke Marcum finished with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Alexis Payne contributed the other double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Rio got ahead early. Kaylyn Gambill splashed a three to take a 5-2 lead with 18:08 to go in the first half. The RedStorm never surrendered the lead following that bucket.
The win was much needed for Rio, who had lost six of its previous seven games after rip-roaring into the conference season with a 12-2 overall record.
The RedStorm (16-10, 5-9) are now one spot ahead of Cumberland with four games left on the regular season schedule. Rio Grande sits in eighth place in the conference, which suffices to qualify for the MSC Tournament.