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RIVERWOMEN WALLOP HARRIS-STOWE

Following a 61-point victory, the women's basketball team comes from behind to beat IUPU-Fort Wayne

by Dave Kinworthy

The women's basketball team continued its impressive season with a victory over Harris-Stowe State College 106-45 and upped their record to 11-5.

Lindsay Brefeld paced the Riverwomen with 32 points while Melanie Marcy and Annette Brandy added 12 points each. The team was able to incorporate 13 people into the scoring book while knocking off 10 three pointers.

The Riverwomen controlled the game from the beginning as the team went on a 20-0 run during the first five minutes of the game.

Coach Shelly Ethridge was pleased with the game, but never took Harris-Stowe lightly.

"We had the girls prepared for anything and everything. We never take anyone lightly," Ethridge said.

The Riverwomen went into half-time with a 55-16 lead and outscored Harris-Stowe in the second half 51-29. The women allowed only three of Harris-Stowe's players to even score.

Although it would appear statistically like the Riverwomen defeated Harris-Stowe handily, Ethridge is quick to point out that there is something to learn from every game.

"We learned that we need to play better defense," Ethridge said. "We are not playing the aggressive and tenacious defense that I would like to play."

One of the reasons Ethridge says that the team is not responding as intended is because of a lack in familiarity to the style of defense.

"Some [players] are still getting used to me. Only two players have actually played under me before," Ethridge said. "We're playing defense in spurts. If we played together on the same cylinder, we would not have as many losses."

The Riverwomen then played Indiana University/Purdue University-Fort Wayne on Jan. 22. The team ended up with a come from behind victory 82-72.

The Riverwomen were down at half-time 37-22, but rallied in the second half; outscoring IUPU 60-35. The team had fallen behind by as many as 21 points. It was also out-rebounded 45-35.

Annette Brandy led all scorers with 25 points while shooting 10 for 20 from the field. Charlee Dixon and Lindsay Brefeld also added 15 points each.

The Riverwomen continue on the road for its next two games against two rough teams, St. Joseph and Quincy University.

Ethridge emphasizes how crucial these games are for the Riverwomen which is currently ranked sixth in the region.

"This conference and level of play is so high that you don't know if you will win on an opponent's floor," Ethridge said. "I have enormous respect for this conference. These next few games are crucial for us to win in order to make the tournament."