CHICAGO — The Chicago State women's basketball team (0-10, 0-7 WAC) dropped a 64-56 decision to the Tarleton State Texans (5-12, 1-6 WAC) Saturday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago. It was a back-and-forth affair in the first half, and the Cougars trailed by just two heading into the fourth quarter on the strength of 6-of-7 three-point shooting and five third-quarter offensive rebounds by
Christina Britter (Dunlap, IL/Dunlap ) to keep the Cougars within striking distance.
Wynter Webb (Atlanta, GA/Mill Creek ) scored the first four Cougars points to cut an early Texans lead to 6-4. Following a pair of Tarleton free throws,
Nadia Thorman-McKey (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) drilled a long three-point field goal to cut the gap to one, 8-7, before converting a free throw on the next trip down the court to knot the score, 8-8. With Tarleton holding an 11-10 advantage, the teams traded three-point field goals to close out the quarter and the Texans holding a one-point lead, 17-16. Webb and Thorman-McKey accounted for all the Cougars scoring in the first quarter, Thorman-McKey with nine and Webb with seven.
Both teams failed to score for nearly three minutes to open the second quarter before Tarleton extended the lead to three, 19-16, with 7:08 remaining. The Cougars answered with a
Laura Segues (Castelloli, Spain) three to knot the score, 19-19.
Leilani Moncrease (Oakland, CA/Moreau Catholic) converted a free throw to give CSU a brief 20-19 lead, with 6:16 to go until half. At that point, the Texans finished the quarter with an 11-5 run to go into the locker room at halftime with a 30-25 lead. The Cougars converted all five of their three-point attempts in the first half to keep it close. CSU came into the contest averaging 2.4 made threes per game at a 23 percent clip and doubled that output in one half.
The Texans extended the lead to a game-high seven with the first points of the third quarter, 32-25.
Laura Segues (Castelloli, Spain) answered with a layup and Thorman-McKey added a free throw to cut the deficit to four, 32-28. The Texans made a layup and free throw before Segues connected on a three to pull the Cougars to within four, 35-31. A quick 8-2 Tarleton run and the Texans had the game's largest lead, 10, with 5:05 remaining in the third. CSU answered with a 6-0 run of their own on buckets by Britter,
Wynter Webb (Atlanta, GA/Mill Creek ) and Thorman-McKey to cut the lead to four, 43-39. Webb converted a pair of free throws to end the quarter and the Cougars trailed by just two, 45-43. Britter pulled down seven third-quarter rebounds, five on the offensive side, to help CSU gain extra possessions and stay within striking distance.
Tarleton scored to extend the lead to four, 47-43, before
Precious Adediran (UK, London/Barking Abbey Sixth Form) drained a three to cut the lead to one. The Texans scored their next three points from the free throw line then sunk a jumper to go up by six, 52-46, with 6:58 remaining in the game. Segues and Thorman-McKey quickly scored and the Texans lead dwindled to four, 54-50.
Following a Texans hoop and free throw,
Wynter Webb (Atlanta, GA/Mill Creek ) scored on a driving layup, was fouled, and made the free throw to make the deficit once again four, 57-53. Tarleton countered with a three-point field goal and the lead was back up to seven, 60-53, with under two minutes to play.
Three Cougars scored in double figures.
Wynter Webb (Atlanta, GA/Mill Creek ) led the way with 17 points, Thorman-McKey added 16 and Segues dropped in 12.
Christina Britter (Dunlap, IL/Dunlap ) led all players with 10 rebounds. The Cougars finished with a season best 7-of-9 from beyond the three-point line, while Britter earned several additional third-quarter possessions with five offensive rebounds.
The same two teams will square off tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 14, at 1 p.m. In an effort to minimize both travel and exposure, this season's Western Athletic Conference's schedule format features back-to-back games against the same opponent at the same site.
Next:
- Who? Tarleton State
- Where? Jones Convocation Center, Chicago
- When? Sunday, February 14, 2021, 1 p.m. CDT
