Saturday, November 20, 2004

Behind 64.3% shooting in the second half, Arkansas State turned a two-point halftime lead into an 82-61 victory over Valparaiso on Saturday evening in the consolation game of the Subway Classic held in Minneapolis, Minn.

Valpo fell behind from the start, trailing 14-4 just seven minutes into the game. Seven straight points midway through the stanza, keyed by back-to-back baskets by Carrie Myers (Stickleyville, Va./Lee H.S.) cut the deficit to two, 22-20, with 8:20 remaining in the half. After the Lady Indians pushed the lead back to seven, the Crusaders scored nine more unanswered points to take the lead 29-27 with 3:50 to play after a Jenna Stangler (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville H.S.) jumper. The half remained tight the rest of the way as Arkansas State eventually took a 34-32 lead into the locker room.

The Lady Indians came out of halftime scoring the first six points, and Valpo would never cut the lead under six the rest of the game. Leading 61-50 with 7:59 remaining, Arkansas State (1-1) scored eight straight points to put the game out of reach.

Stangler, who was named to the Subway Classic All-Tournament Team, led the Crusaders with 15 points after making 7-of-13 from the floor. Katie Boone (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove H.S.) added 11 points and six assists, making 3-of-4 from three-point range. Meredith Baugher (Berea, Ohio/Berea H.S.) and Betsy Rietema (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian H.S.) added eight points each, with Baugher and Tamra Braun (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake H.S.) leading the Brown and Gold with five rebounds each.

Ali Carter led Arkansas State with 22 points, 16 in the first half, while Zaneta Lane added 15 points an Adrianne Davie chipped in 14 more. Davie and Vanessa Schrock grabbed eight boards each, while Rudy Sims dished out nine assists without a turnover.

Valpo (0-2) committed 17 turnovers, 11 in the first half, after coughing it up just ten times total in the season opener against Virginia Tech on Friday. The Crusaders caused 14 Lady Indian miscues, but 54.4% shooting for the game lifted Arkansas State. ASU also outrebounded Valpo 37-27 in the game.

Valparaiso will return to action next Sunday, November 28, as the Crusaders will host the Valparaiso State Farm Classic at the Genesis Center in Gary, Ind. The Brown and Gold will battle Saint Xavier in the second game beginning at 3 p.m., following the 1 p.m. tilt between Purdue-Calumet and Indiana-Northwest.