November 18, 2021
LADY COUGARS REMAIN UNDEFEATED
A pair of undefeated teams took the floor on Wednesday night at L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium as the Cleveland State Lady Cougars welcomed the Roane State Lady Raiders to town. Something had to give as one team would suffer their first setback of the young season. In a battle from beginning to end, the Lady Cougars shook off a slow start in the first half and roared back in the second half to post a 73-59 win over the ladies from Roane State.
For most of the first half of the ladies contest, Roane State dominated play on both ends of the court as they employed a suffocating defensive effort. The Lady Cougars had almost as many turnovers as points in the first half, 17 turnovers and 21 points, but somehow managed to stay within striking distance, trailing by only a 30-21 margin at the break.
Catherine Hendershott hit a long 3-pointer and a pair of buckets in the paint for Roane State as the visitors built a 17-10 lead in the first quarter. The Lady Cougars warmed a bit in the second frame as the teams traded buckets. Kiersten Hudson hit a 3-ball and Asjah Harrell added a pair of jumpers to help Cleveland State slice into the lead, but a pair of driving layups by Bralyn McGaha helped extend the Roane lead to a 30-21 halftime advantage.
The much taller Lady Raiders controlled the paint and gathered 13 offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes, but shot only 30% as they allowed the Lady Cougars to stay close.
"We gave a spirited pep talk at halftime and the girls really responded in the second half," explained Lady Cougar coach Evelyn Thompson. "We just didn't play well in the first half. They (Roane) out worked us on defense, we threw the ball away we didn't rebound, it was bad. But, I challenged them to go out and play the way they were capable of playing and it was much better in the second half."
A different team took the floor for Cleveland State in the third quarter as the home team quickly erased the nine point deficit. De'Zah Lacy jumped in with a layup and a three-point play, Emma Harig continued her good work amongst the tall trees of Roane with a pair of tough buckets and Michaela Bennefield provided a huge spark off the bench with 14 second half points. Bennefield finished with a double double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the comeback. Harrell let fly from 3-point land in the final seconds of the third period as Cleveland State took the lead for good, 47-43 at the third stop.
The Lady Cougars just kept pouring it on in the fourth frame as the lead grew steadily to double digits, finishing the game with a 10-2 run to post the big 14-point win and in the process keep their record unblemished at 5-0 and 2-0 in Region play while handing Roane State (7-1,1-1) their first setback of the season.
The Lady Cougars shot a very respectable 45% for the game while Roane finished at 34%. Cleveland State turned the tables in the turnover category, forcing 14 in the second half while having only three themselves. After Bennefield's big night, Harrell led the way for the Lady Cougars with 18 points, six assists and three steals, Hudson finished with 11 points and six rebounds and Lacy pitched in with 10 points. Hendershot led the Lady Raiders with 23 points while McGaha added 11.
