Paxton Ritchey-CSC Sports Information
CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State women’s basketball hung with a talented CSU Pueblo team for three quarters, but the ThunderWolves pulled away in the fourth to win 86-77 on Saturday afternoon at the Chicoine Center.
The Eagles (4-16, 3-11 RMAC) and ThunderWolves (14-8, 9-5 RMAC) were tied 61-61 at the end of the third quarter, but an 11-0 run by the visitors midway through the final period proved to be decisive.
Reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Alisha Little had a 29-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the ThunderWolves after putting up 23 points and 12 rebounds earlier this season against CSC.
That performance helped overcome the third 20-point game of the season by Eagles junior guard Kylie Krise, who finished with 22 points on 6 of 11 shooting, making three three-pointers and going a perfect 7-for-7 from the line.
Megan Counts finished with 12 points and Kyra Tanabe added 11 to give CSC three players in double figures. Freshman Malorie Byrne made 3 of 5 three-pointers on the night to score a career-high nine points.
The ThunderWolves did most of their offensive damage in the first and fourth quarters, scoring 25 points in each period. CSU Pueblo shot 52.6 percent from the field for the game, including 62.5 percent in the first and 70 percent in the fourth. Pueblo outscored CSC 44-28 in the paint, but Chadron State did have the overall rebounding advantage, 36-27.
The Eagles were 46.6 percent from the field and made a season-high nine three pointers, ending up 9-for-23 from deep for 39.1 percent. They were also nearly perfect from the line, hitting 14 of 15 foul shots for a season-best 93.3 percent.
CSU Pueblo shot the ball well in the first quarter and were up 25-14, but the Eagles responded with a 14-2 run across the end of the first quarter and start of the second quarter, with back-to-back Counts threes pulling CSC within one before Allison Richards put back her own miss to give the Eagles their first lead, 28-27.
The teams see-sawed from there and were knotted at 38-38 as time wound down in the first half, but Pueblo’s Genesis Sweetwine was fouled at the buzzer and hit both free throws to give CSUP a two-point lead heading into the locker room.
Chadron State found its shooting stroke to take the lead in the third quarter, as Byrne hit two straight threes immediately followed by another from Kyra Tanabe in the span of a minute to give CSC a 51-46 advantage. Moments later, Pueblo responded with a 7-0 run that tied the game at 55-55.
Pueblo went on their big run and earned its largest lead of the entire night of 13 points with just 43 seconds remaining at 84-71.
The Eagles will play their next four games away from home, starting with a road trip to MSU Denver and Colorado School of Mines next weekend on February 13 and 15.