CHICAGO (Nov. 30, 2009) – Chicago State women's basketball battled visiting Western Michigan in the third game of its current homestand before the Mid-American Conference member captured a close 74-71 victory Wednesday night at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center. The Cougars fell to 2-5 on the year, while the Broncos evened their season record to 3-3.
The visitors broke open a 5-5 tie early in the first half with a 16-5 scoring drive that lasted 3:50 to capture a 21-10 lead after junior Kemmy Dominique canned a three-pointer at the 13:05 mark, while sophomore Miame Giden tallied eight points during the run.
CSU responded with a 15-6 run of its own through a span of nearly nine minutes behind six points from sophomore Janay Dockery (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) to close within two points at 27-25 that ended with a pair of free throws by senior Laureen Pierson (Dayton, OH/Northmont) (Dayton, Ohio) at 3:28. After a Giden three-pointer increased WMU's leading margin to 32-25 at the 2:47 mark, the Cougars outscored the Broncos by a 6-3 margin down the stretch to slice their deficit to 35-31 entering intermission.
A quick 7-3 run over the opening four minutes helped the home team tie the score at 38-all after junior Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) connected on a three-pointer at 16:16. The Broncos then scored six straight points over a minute to reclaim the lead at 44-38 with 14:05 after a layup by senior Jenny Loney. CSU then posted a 20-8 scoring run in nearly nine minutes to regain the advantage at 58-52 with 5:46 left in the game following a three-pointer from sophomore Natalie Marlowe (South Milwaukee, WI/South Milwaukee) (South Milwaukee, Wis.).
Senior Molly Dwyer scored eight points to lead a 17-10 scoring drive within a four-plus minute run to help WMU gain a slim 69-68 lead with 55 seconds left in regulation before senior Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) canned a three from the left side at the 35-second mark to give the Cougars a 71-69 lead. The visitors scored five points in the final 16 seconds to gain the win.
Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) led Chicago State with a season-high 19 points and a career-best eight rebounds, while Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) added 11 points and Pierson tallied 10 points. Junior Elana Wroten (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (Chicago, Ill.) contributed nine points and eight caroms for the Cougars. Dockery and senior Nicole Clark (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) (West Bloomfield, Mich.) each finished with eight points.
Giden finished with a game-high 23 points and four steals to lead Western Michigan on the evening. Dwyer added 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting from three-point range and six rebounds, while junior Brenna Bankson posted 10 points.
The Cougars close their homestand on Wednesday evening with a battle against former Mid-Continent Conference foe Valparaiso at the Jones Convocation Center with a start time of 7 p.m.
~CSU~
