CHICAGO – Chicago State women's basketball used a big run in the second half to break a four-game losing streak here tonight as it defeated Central Arkansas by a score of 78-62 at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center in its final game of the year 2009. The Cougars hiked their record to 5-10, while the Sugar Bears dropped to 8-3 on the season.
The Cougars posted a slim 8-7 advantage over the first three-plus minutes of the first half after senior Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) drilled a three-pointer at the 16:33 mark, but the visitors received six straight points from freshman Desiree' Rogers over a near two-minute span to gain a 13-8 lead with 14:44 left in the stanza. CSU then scored seven unanswered points in over a minute to regain the lead at 15-13 after Waldon layup at 13:15.
After UCA scored a quick 6-0 run of its own behind freshman Megan Herbert to post a 19-15 lead at the 11:31 mark, the home team quietly went on a commanding 16-2 scoring drive over a 7:11 span to post a 31-21 advantage with 4:20 remaining in the opening period. Junior Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) scored five points during CSU's decisive run. The Sugar Bears did not quit, however, as they used the three-pointer as part of a 13-3 run with a pair of treys from sophomore Marci Moffitt to knot the score at 34-all with 31 seconds left in the half. Junior Tressa Beckel (Waseca, Minn./Wisconsin) (Waseca, Minn.) canned a jumper in the paint at the 17-second mark to give CSU a 36-34 lead entering the half.
A 30-8 scoring run over a 12-plus minute span helped the Cougars break a 40-40 tie and gain their biggest lead at 70-48 with 4:58 left after a Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) jumper. UCA could get no closer the 14 points for the rest of the game.
Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) tallied a double-double 15 points and 12 rebounds in addition to six assists to lead Chicago State. Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) added 14 points, while senior Laureen Pierson (Dayton, OH/Northmont) (Dayton, Ohio) and junior Caila Desroches (Long Island, NY/Monroe CC) (Long Island, N.Y.) each added nine points. Sophomore Janay Dockery (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) recorded five assists and a career-best three blocks for the Cougars.
Herbert posted a double-double with game highs of 29 points and 13 rebounds to pace Central Arkansas, while freshman Micah Rice added 10 points and a game-high nine assists. Moffitt and Rogers each finished with nine points on the evening.
The Cougars conclude their three-game homestand at the Jones Convocation Center with their first contest of the year 2010 Sunday afternoon against Northern Illinois with a start time of 2 p.m.
~CSU~
