CHICAGO – Freshman Kayla Drake registered game-highs of 33 points, eight rebounds and six steals as visiting Eastern Kentucky posted a 71-61 victory over Chicago State Sunday afternoon at the Emil and Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center. The Colonels improve to 2-0 on the young season, while the Cougars saw their record drop to 1-1.
The Cougars claimed an early 8-4 lead at the 14:48 mark of the opening half on a layup by junior Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.). A three-point play by sophomore Nadia Mossong and a layup from sophomore Cherie White gave EKU a 9-8 lead with 13:24 left, but layups from juniors Laureen Pierson (Dayton, OH/Northmont) (Dayton, Ohio) and Nicole Clark (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) (West Bloomfield, Mich.) later helped CSU tie the score at 12-12 halfway through the first stanza. The Colonels then went on a 14-5 scoring run that lasted eight minutes en route to posting their biggest lead of the half at 26-15 with 2:20 remaining. A three-pointer from freshman Jael Peña (Harlem, N.Y.) cut the visitors' advantage to 28-20 with 35 seconds left, but a pair of free throws by junior Colette Cole gave EKU a 30-20 leading margin entering halftime.
Senior Jasmin Dixon (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) and Peña connected on layups to bring CSU within six (30-24) in the first minute of the second half, but a 15-8 scoring run over a nine-minute span hiked the visitors' leading margin to 45-32 with 9:54 left in the game after a Drake layup. The Cougars later regrouped to post a quick 9-2 run with Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) providing five points to close within 47-41 at the 8:05 mark after sophomore Elana Wroten (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (Chicago, Ill.) drained a pair of free throws. After EKU scored seven of the next eight points in three-plus minutes to hike its lead back to 54-42, Dixon hit a jumper at the 4:37 mark which jumpstarted a 10-4 scoring drive that brought the home team to within 56-52 after Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) culminated the drive with a three with 2:02 left in the contest. The Colonels would close out the game by hitting 13-of-15 from the free throw line down the stretch.
Dixon paced CSU with 15 points and five assists, while Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) finished with 13 points and a game-high four steals. Peña posted 10 points with four steals and Wroten finished with seven rebounds for the Cougars.
Cole added 12 points and seven caroms, and White tallied 11 points for EKU.
CSU heads to Wisconsin for a mid-week contest as it takes on Green Bay on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
~ CSU ~
