USAF Academy, Colo. – Senior Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, Wis.) recorded season highs of 24 points, four assists and four steals to lead Chicago State women’s basketball to a 72-58 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday afternoon in the consolation game at the 14th-annual Air Force Holiday Classic at Clune Arena. CSU improve its record to 4-6 with the win, while the Islanders dropped to 4-3 on the year.
The Cougars captured an early 5-2 lead on a three-pointer from Alyssa Waldon at the 17 minute mark before TAMU-CC posted an 8-2 run over two minutes to gain a 10-7 advantage at 15:02 following a three-pointer by junior Deziree Green. Waldon scored seven points during CSU’s near eight-minute 13-1 scoring drive to reclaim the lead at 20-11 that ended with a layup by sophomore Jael Peña (Harlem, N.Y.) with 7:16 left in the half.
The Islanders then received six points from senior Shaye Montgomery and junior Myeisha Myles as part of 16 unanswered points over 3:13 as they recaptured the lead at 27-20 at the 3:48 mark. A 12-3 run by CSU with seven points coming from Waldon to help the Green and White head into halftime with a 32-30 advantage.
CSU started the second half with a 23-8 run over 6:24, led by 11 points from junior Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, Wis.), to increase its lead to 55-38 with 13:36 left in the game. TAMU-CC then posted a quick 10-1 scoring drive in nearly four minutes to slice its deficit to 56-45 at 9:56 after junior Lauren Smith knocked down two free throws, but could get no closer than 12 points for the rest of the game.
Junior Elana Wroten (Chicago, Ill.) recorded a double-double of a career-high 15 rebounds and 13 points to go along with a game-high three blocks, while Courtney Waldon finished with 18 points and Pena added nine points with four assists for Chicago State. Alyssa Waldon earned all-tournament team honors after averaging 19.5 points and three steals per game for the tournament.
Myles led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and seven rebounds. Green added 11 points and six rebounds, while Montgomery posted 10 points and junior Jade Davis tallied three assists.
CSU closes its three-game road slate back in the Midwest on Dec. 13 with a non-conference contest at Horizon League foe Milwaukee with the tip-off set for 4 p.m., central time.
~CSU~