CHADRON, Neb. — January 24, 2022 — The Chadron State College women’s basketball team (6-11, 5-7 RMAC) was handed their first home loss of the season by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponent Westminster College (9-5, 8-2 RMAC) during a rescheduled game that took place Monday afternoon. The final was 71-59.
Accuracy was a major issue for the Eagles as they shot 31.7% on field goals (19-60) and 14.3% on three-pointers (2-14). The Griffins took advantage and outpaced CSC right from the get-go.
Westminster struck first when Hunter Krebs received a pass from Abby Mangum to land a go-ahead layup at 9:45. Following the first score of the game were eight missed shots and seven turnovers committed between both teams.
Krebs finally broke the ice by putting up a fastbreak layup to make it 4-0 at 6:39. Samiyah Worrell scored the Eagles’ first two points off successful free throws less than a minute later. This gave Chadron State’s offense the kickstart it needed as it proceeded to score 10 points off field goals by Olyvia Pacheco, Ashayla Powers, and Tatum Peterson. The score was 16-12 at the end of the first quarter.
The Griffins’ defense stepped up in the second quarter, holding the Eagles to only nine points. Three of those points came from a deep three-pointer by Worrell at 6:08. The Griffins answered back with two treys of their own and went six-for-12 on field goals to make it 33-21 at the half.
The cold-shooting Eagles continued to struggle against Westminster’s defense in the third quarter, going 3-12 on field goals and missing a three-pointer. The Griffins would put up six more field goals and six successful free throws to give them a 20-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
With 52-33 on the scoreboard, the Eagles had their best performance in the final quarter as they scored 26 points down the stretch. They went 46.7% on field goals (7-15) and shot perfect on free throws (11-11) to cut into the Griffins’ lead. Jori Peters also made one three-pointer to help contribute to the comeback effort.
Despite their improvement in the fourth quarter, the Eagles were unable to overcome Westminster as the Griffins answered back by shooting a perfect three-for-three on three-pointers and eight-for-eight on free throws. The score was 71-59 at the final buzzer of the game.
The Eagles will have a chance to bounce back when they travel to Colorado to face MSU Denver (12-4, 8-3 RMAC) on Friday at 5 p.m.
Chadron State—Ashayla Powers 17, Olyvia Pacheco 12, Micheala Dammann 10, Jori Peters 7, Samiyah Worrell 7, Riley Aiono 2, Brittni McCully 2, Tatum Peterson 2. Totals: 19-60 (2-14) 19-23, 59 points, 37 rebounds, 14 assists, 18 turnovers.
Westminster— Sarah McGinley 21, Ashley Greenwood 17, Rae Falatea 10, Lyndzi Rich 7, Hunter Krebs 7, Caitlyn Okerlund 5, Abby Mangum 4. Totals: 23-46 (7-12) 18-25, 71 points, 34 rebounds, 16 assists, 18 turnovers.
