CHICAGO – Junior Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) led five players in double figures with 20 points as the Chicago State women's basketball team defeated visiting South Dakota, 72-61, in a Great West Conference contest this afternoon at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center. The Cougars improved their season record to 11-18 (6-5) on the year, while the Coyotes dropped to 12-14 (4-5) on the year.
CSU captured a 14-7 advantage within the first 7:23 of the first half with six points coming from sophomore Janay Dockery (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) and later hiked its leading margin to 18-9 following a layup from Waldon at the 9:29 mark. The visitors then scored seven of the next nine points in over three minutes to close within 20-16 on a layup by junior Abby Kinder with 6:06 remaining in the stanza. The Cougars closed out the half with an 8-2 scoring drive in the final 4:53 to enter halftime with a 26-18 lead.
Waldon scored seven points as part of an 11-6 scoring run in the first three-plus minutes of the second half as the home team increased its lead to 37-24 at the 16:47 mark. USD responded by 31-20 scoring drive in a 13-minute stretch with nine points from sophomore Amber Hegge to pull within 57-55 with 3:18 left in the game after Kinder connected on a three-pointer. A 15-6 run in the final three minutes with Waldon scoring five points during the run helped CSU claim the win.
In addition to leading the team in scoring, Waldon also finished with game highs of seven rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. Junior Tressa Beckel (Waseca, Minn./Wisconsin) (Waseca, Minn.) added 12 points and tied Waldon with seven boards, while senior Alyssa Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) posted 11 points, six assists and two blocks. Dockery and junior Caila Desroches (Long Island, NY/Monroe CC) (Long Island, N.Y.) each tallied 10 points.
Hegge led all scorers in the game with 22 points and added three assists. Kinder added 14 points and senior Jasmine Mosley recorded seven boards with two steals for South Dakota.
Chicago State closes its three-game homestand on Saturday, March 6 as it welcomes NJIT to the Jones Convocation Center in its regular season and Great West finale beginning at 12 p.m. The Cougars will also honor their senior players on that day in a senior day ceremony.
~CSU~
