CHICAGO — The Chicago State women's basketball team (4-15, 3-7 WAC) fell to Abilene Christian, 75-52, Monday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center.
Freshman phenom Aaliyah Collins powered the Cougars with 21 points, her seventh game with 20 or more, while Quentarra Mitchell tallied 15. But the Cougars' offense sputtered, shooting 0-for-12 from behind the arc in the loss. Abilene Christian, meanwhile, shot at a 41 percent clip from three-point land.
"Much respect to Abilene Christian," head coach Tiffany Sardin said. "We have to work at being much better at defending the three-point line.
"We got some pretty good looks, but we have to be able to focus and finish. We have to be able to execute."
In the first quarter, the Wildcats came out firing on cylinders both offensively and defensively, as they executed a 19-3 run to end the quarter, which they won, 25-8. Bella Earle, a freshman guard, scored six points to lead the Wildcats, who nailed two threes in the quarter. Collins, Mitchell and Christina Britter were CSU's only scorers in the frame.
To start the second, the Wildcats continued their defensive onslaught. It wasn't until the 7:02 mark that the Cougars finally drained a bucket, as Collins layed it up for two to snap the Wildcats' run.
The Cougars ended up winning the quarter, 13-11, thanks to a late 7-0 run keyed by Collins and Janiah Newell, who drilled two shots.
Still, the Cougars plunged into halftime trailing by 15 with a score of 36-21.
In the third quarter, the Cougars came out clawing and opened up the scoring with another layup by Collins and a jumper from Mitchell. Much like in the second quarter, the teams continued to trade buckets, which kept the Cougars from executing a comeback.
The Cougars continued to shoot a cold clip, and the quarter ended with the Wildcats leading by 18 at 53-35.
In the fourth quarter, the story remained the same. Britter provided some strong minutes for CSU, tallying four offensive rebounds on the afternoon, but the Wildcats cruised to a comfortable win with a final score of 75-52.
"We have to play each possession and give it our all," Sardin said. "We have to be ready to compete from start to finish."
The Cougars next hit the road to Texas for two games, facing Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year.
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