DAYTON, Ohio – Chicago State women's basketball concluded its two-game road swing through the East on a somber note tonight as host Dayton claimed a close 75-70 victory over the Cougars at the UD Arena. The Flyers improve to 7-4 on the year while CSU saw its record drop to 4-6.
UD opened the game with an early 15-4 lead in the game's opening six minutes behind four points from sophomore Kristin Daugherty and freshman Justine Raterman. Chicago State then scored six of the next 10 points in nearly two minutes which cut the Flyers' advantage to 19-10 at the 12:10 mark. A Daugherty jumper at 9:29 capped a quick 6-1 UD scoring drive which increased the home team's advantage to 25-11. The Cougars later posted a 27-8 run over eight and a half minutes to pull within 38-35 that culminated with a three-pointer by freshman Janay Dockery (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) with 33 seconds left, but Raterman drilled a three with 21 seconds remaining to send the Flyers into the break with a 41-35 lead.
The second half began with sophomore Courtney Walton (Sun Prairie, Wis.) hit a triple at 18:23 to cut CSU's deficit to 41-38, but the home team responded with a 13-5 scoring drive to increase its advantage to 54-43 with 11:23 left in the game after junior Kendel Ross posted a conventional three-point play. The Cougars then recorded an 11-1 run over four minutes to even the score at 55-all with nine points coming from Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) and later scored nine of the next 15 points to snap a 57-57 tie to claim a 66-63 lead on a layup from senior Jasmin Dixon (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) at 3:54. UD then scored 12 of the final game's final 15 points in the home stretch that included eight points from freshman De'Sarae Chambers for the final margin.
Junior Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) led Chicago State with a game-high 19 points and went 5-of-9 from downtown. Dixon finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) added 15 points. Sophomore Elana Wroten (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (Chicago, Ill.) and Dockery each contributed seven boards.
Raterman (16 points, 14 rebounds) and Ross (13 points, 15 rebounds) each posted double-doubles lead Dayton, while Raterman added a game-high five assists. Daugherty also scored in double figures for the Flyers with 15 points and freshman Casey Nance had a game-high four blocks.
The Cougars return to action Sunday afternoon with a contest against Southern Illinois at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center with a start time of 2 p.m.
~ CSU ~
