Sports
RedStorm Erase 16-point Deficit, Defeat Wilberforce
By: Megan Plain
Posted on:
For the second time his season, Rio Grande (7-2) defeated Wilberforce University (1-10) to earn a season sweep. Wednesday was a much closer game than the previous, but Rio Grande pushed through a 16-point deficit to win, 79-65.
Rio Grande had a rocky start, as the Bulldogs quickly took a 10-0 lead to begin the game. By the time there was 10:50 left before intermission, Wilberforce enjoyed its biggest lead of 16 points, with a score of 20-4. But Rio quickly built its way back into the game to make it 35-31 at halftime.
Throughout the second half of the game it was a much closer battle. Shortly into the half Rio Grande gained its first lead on the night, leading by one point, 39-38. The rest of the game could have gone either way but Rio Grande put itself on top to win.
Many of Rio Grande's players scored a majority of their points in the second half. Sophomore Sarah Bonar scored 14 in the second half and had a game-high of 20 points. Freshman Brooke Marcum scored 10 out of her 12 in the final 20 minutes, and junior Brianna Thomas scored eight of her 11 after halftime.
Following Wednesday’s game, Rio Grande has outscored its opponents, 829-691. Offensively the RedStorm have been on fire this season. Thomas leads on the team with 20.3 points per game, followed by Bonar at 17.4.
This was a devastating loss for Wilberforce after giving up a large lead. As for Rio's first showing without the home court advantage, it was lacking some of the intensity that the previous games had.
Rio Grande will head to West Virginia Institute of Technology on Dec. 4, looking for its second sweep of the season. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.