Early Surge Lifts 'Runners Past Chicago State

Box Score BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – On the road to continue WAC action, the Chicago State Cougars fell to CSU Bakersfield on Thursday night, 80-47 in Kern Schools Court in the Icardo Center.

Junior Ines Mata Boix (Madrid, Spain/) (Madrid, Spain/Marquette) kicked off the evening with the driving layup to tally the first basket of the contest for CSU. Following Boix, redshirt-sophomore Destinee Pointer (Waxahatchie, Texas/Waxahatchie) (Waxahatchie, Texas/Waxahatchie) rifled a shot from range that tied the game at five points apiece, off an assist from fellow classmate Tyeshia Bowers (Flint, Mich./Southwestern) (Flint, Mich./Southwestern).

From there, the Roadrunners went on an unanswered 11-point tear to take control of the game's momentum just five minutes in. Pointer would be the Cougar to stunt the CSUB run however, as she finger rolled the ball into basket to make it a 16-7 game.

CSU would pull as close as six points behind the Roadrunners during the first quarter, thanks to two made free throws from Kourtney Crane (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods), but Bakersfield would eventually escape the first 10 minutes holding a seven-point advantage over Chicago State.

The Roadrunners turned up the heat on defense and held CSU to just nine points in the second quarter, while Bakersfield's offense continued to spark behind 64.3 percent shooting from the field, which led the team into halftime with a 45-26 lead.

The Cougars were slow to get rolling in the second half, marking their first basket of the final half of play at the 7:01 mark, off a jumper from Bowers. Sophomore Tamara Olverson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) got involved with the CSU offense, combining for four of the team's eight third quarter points with two layups of her own.

In the final 10-minute stretch, CSU battled its WAC foe, with a perfect 4-4 free throw shooting and saw clutch baskets from Bowers beyond the arc and Alexandria Cliff (Manitowoc, Wis./Roncalli) (Manitowac, Wis./Roncalli). Ultimately, the Roadrunners' early surge was too much for the Cougars to overcome as the team fell 80-47.

CSU out-rebounded its opponent, 40-39 and shot 10-12 from the charity stripe on the evening. With 12 Cougars appearing in Thursday night's action, just six contributed to scoring. Of those six, CSU's three sophomores, Pointer, Olverson and Bowers, combined for 26 of the team's 47 total points.

Chicago-State remains on the road this weekend, as Grand Canyon University is on tap for the Cougars. The two teams are set to face off in Arizona this afternoon at 4 p.m. (CST).

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Players Mentioned

#10 Tyeshia Bowers: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#4 Alexandria Cliff: F; 6' 0"; Junior

#22 Ines Mata Boix: F; 6' 2"; Junior

#34 Tamara Olverson: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#5 Destinee Pointer: G; 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

#23 Kourtney Crane: G; 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Tyeshia Bowers
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#4 Alexandria Cliff
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

#22 Ines Mata Boix
: 6' 2"; Junior
: F

#34 Tamara Olverson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: F

#5 Destinee Pointer
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#23 Kourtney Crane
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: G

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned