Paxton Ritchey-CSC Sports Information
CHADRON, Neb. – Camren Morris scored a career-high 16 points and newcomer Allison Richards also finished in double figures, but Chadron State women’s basketball lost to Wayne State by a 73-64 score in the season opener for both teams Saturday morning at the Chicoine Center.
The Eagles shot 45 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and 73 percent from the line against the Wildcats but were hurt by 27 turnovers. Wayne State led the entire game and were up by as many as 18 in the second half, but Chadron State outscored the visitors 24-17 in the fourth quarter to trim the final margin.
The Eagles improved as the game went on, shooting just 18 percent in the first quarter but improving to 35 percent in the second quarter, 54 percent in the third quarter and 75 percent (9-12) in the fourth quarter.
Morris, a junior guard from Idalia, Colorado, bested her previous career high by six points, hitting 6 of 10 shots from the field, including 3 of 5 three-pointers.
Richards, a junior college transfer originally from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, finished with 10 points on 3 of 6 shooting, including two made threes, while also recording four rebounds and four assists.
Other new Eagles who made an impact in their first game at CSC included Bati Assefa, a Salt Lake CC transfer who finished with six pounts, seven rebounds and three blocks, and McKenzi Petersen, a Dawson CC transfer who grabbed five boards.
Ashayla Powers, a returning Second Team All-RMAC player from last season, was limited by foul trouble to just 13 minutes played, but finished with seven points on 3-for-5 shooting and three rebounds.
The game was a defensive struggle early on, with the score staying 2-2 until under five minutes left in the first quarter. Wayne State built a 15-6 lead, but a Camren Morris three with nine seconds left cut the lead to 15-9 after the first quarter. Morris, Allison Richards and Kyra Tanabe all hit three-pointers in the second quarter as CSC kept pace to trail 31-24 at the break.
Wayne State took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring Chadron 25-16 in the period. After a Morris three had cut Wayne’s advantage to 45-38 with 3:52 to go in the third, the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run, featuring threes from Macy Birkholz and Tate Norblade, to go up by 16.
In the fourth quarter, head coach Travis Brewster started subbing Ashayla Powers in and out with four fouls so that Powers essentially played offense only. The senior went to work, converting a three-point play and a jumper on consecutive possessions to make it 66-60 with two minutes to go. The turnovers continued, however, as CSC had three straight after that to end the game.
Chadron State returns to the court next weekend, traveling to Billings, Montana to play MSU Billings on Friday, November 15 and Simon Fraser the following day. They are at home next on Wednesday, November 20 against Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m.