Sports
RedStorm Blown Out By No. 4 Campbellsville
By: Patrick Gifford
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A 20-0 run is enough to put almost any basketball team away. This was the case for Rio Grande RedStorm women’s basketball (15-10, 4-9) Thursday night when they fell to the No. 4 Campbellsville Tigers (23-2, 13-1), 83-47.
After trailing 9-6 with 14:39 left in the first half, Campbellsville’s second unit sparked a 20-0 run. That momentum snowballed into a 35-11 run to end the half that would ultimately put the RedStorm away.
Rio Grande was in no way aided by its shooting performance. The RedStorm shot a mere 28 percent from the field and were not any better from beyond the arc, shooting 23 percent. Their 47 points scored is by far their lowest scoring total of the season as their previous season-low had been 64 points.
The low scoring output by Rio Grande is surprising for a team that ranks third in NAIA Division I in scoring average with 87.3 points per game. Much of the RedStorm’s offensive struggles can be attributed to their inability to keep control of the ball. Rio Grande turned the ball over 31 times. The RedStorm also had just five assists, compared to their season average of almost 16.
Three Campbellsville Tigers led the team offensively by scoring in double digits. Senior guard Hayler Hellyer, junior guard Daizah Kimberland and sophomore forward Kristen Jacob all scored a team-high ten points. Hellyer and Jacob were both large contributors to Campbellsville’s 48 bench points. Rio, on the other hand, got few contributions and finished with just 21 bench points.
Rio Grande only had one player finish with double-digit scoring numbers. Sophomore Sarah Bonar scored a game-high 13 points. Junior guard Brianna Thomas was limited to just seven points and had zero assists.
The loss puts Rio Grande in serious danger of missing the Mid-South Conference tournament. With only five regular season games remaining, the RedStorm will need to find their rhythm in order to move up in the standings. They will look to do so on Saturday when they travel to St. Catherine College to take on the Patriots.