CHICAGO (Dec. 30, 2008) – Sophomore Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, Wis.) tallied 11 points to lead three Chicago State players in double figures as the host Cougars closed out 2008 with a 64-50 win over Air Force tonight at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center. CSU evened its record to 7-7 with the win and the Falcons dropped to 3-9 on the year.
The visitors jumped out to an 8-2 leading margin at 13:32 with six points coming from senior Brooke Cultra. CSU responded with a 10-5 scoring drive in five minutes behind four points from junior Laureen Pierson (Dayton, Ohio) to slice its deficit to 13-12 at the 8:48 mark on a Pierson layup, but baskets by sophomore Liz Dunsworth and Cultra in over a minute hiked Air Force’s advantage back to 17-12.
A layup by senior Jasmin Dixon (Detroit, Mich.) helped the home team score six of the next seven points within three minutes to even the score at 18-all on a Courtney Waldon triple at 5:34. After Cultra hit a pair of free throws that helped the Falcons regain a 20-18 lead at 4:51, the Cougars closed the half by tallying six of the final 13 points down the stretch to claim a slim 26-25 lead into halftime.
CSU opened the second half with a 26-9 run over the first nine and a half minutes to increase its lead to 52-34 at the 10:26 mark which culminated with a three-pointer from junior Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, Wis.). The Cougars never lost their double-digit lead for the rest of the game despite Air Force scoring 16 of the final 28 points in the final 10 minutes, but the home team ran out the clock for the final score.
Freshman Jael Peña (Harlem, N.Y.) contributed 10 points, a season-high eight rebounds and five assists for Chicago State, while Alyssa Waldon finished also with 10 points and three assists. Pierson posted nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and five rebounds. Sophomore Elana Wroten (Chicago, Ill.) and freshman Janay Dockery (Detroit, Mich.) each recorded seven points.
Senior Kim Kreke notched a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead Air Force, while Cultra also recorded 13 points. Sophomore Steve Puentes added nine points, junior Kathleen Schjodt posted eight points and sophomore Raimee Beck tallied seven rebounds.
Chicago State kicks off 2009 on Saturday, Jan. 3 with a trip to DeKalb, Ill., to battle Northern Illinois at the NIU Convocation Center with a start time of 2 p.m.
~ CSU ~