By Con Marshall BOX SCORE
Travis Brewster’s tenure as the women’s basketball coach at Chadron State College got off to a fast start Friday night when his team defeated College of St. Mary from Omaha 88-64 in Chadron. Â
             The Eagles’ own fast start made much of the difference. They jumped out to a 27-13 first quarter lead and remained ahead all the way.
They made 11 of 24 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers, and had no turnovers in the period.
Chadron State never outscored the Flames by more than four points in any of the three remaining quarters, but maintained at least a 14-point lead the entire contest. All 12 players in the scorebook played at least five minutes and 11 of them scored.
Standout forward Shay Powers led the Eales with 19 points and nine rebounds while alternates Molly Cockburn and Kylie Krise tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Cockburn was on the CSC roster last year but seldom played and never scored a point. She made all nine of her shots in the Friday night’s opener, while sinking four field goals and five free throws. Krise transferred from Western Colorado during the summer and made four of her five field goal attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Tia Murray, a 6-foot-1 junior, led the Flames in scoring with 20 points while sophomore Madison Camden added 17 points and freshman guard Madison Guzman finished with both 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Eagles played at a fast pace and employed a three-quarters court press the entire game. Perhaps they were too aggressive some of the time. While they were 12 of 15 at the free throw line, St Mary was 28 of 42 at the charity stripe.
The Flames were called for just 11 fouls and the Eagles for 31. However, Chadron State out-rebounded the visitors 46-30 and took 76 shots from the field and the Flames only 42.
The Eagles will take a long bus ride Saturday, going over 1,200 miles to play Texas A&M International in Laredo on Sunday afternoon. They’re next home game will be on Monday, Nov. 20 against York College.
St. Mary—Tia Murray 20, Madison Camden 17, Madison Guzman 11, Chainey Thompson 8, ShyAnne Mayhew 3, Jazmyne Villalobos 3, Skye Giddings 2. Totals: 15-42 (6-15) 28-42 64 points, 30 rebounds, 21 turnovers.
Chadron State—Shay Powers 19, Molly Cockburn 13, Kylie Krise 11, Kyra Ganabe 9, Awoti Akio 8, Camren Morris 8, Kaydn Comer 5, Olivia Waufle 4, Allison Olsen 4, Megan Counts 4, Liberty Line 3. Totals: 34-76 (8-27) 12-15 88 points, 46 rebounds, 15 turnovers.
St. Mary 13 16 17 18 —64
Chadron State 27 19 20 22 —88
3-pointers: St. Mary—Murray. Camden, Thompson, all 2. CSC—Kruse 3, Morris 2, Tamabe 1, Line 1, Comer 1.