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FORT
WAYNE, Ind. -- Beating Aquinas College was like trying to
open a Christmas present that your ornery brother wrapped.
Eventually you get it opened; it just takes more time and
muscle to tear through layers of tape and wrapping paper.
But it was worth the extra effort.
Besides
the 10th straight win to improve to 12-1, the gift was 'W'
No. 150 for Gary Andrews in his seventh season as coach the
Lady Cougars, an 80-71 win over a hard-nosed, in-your-face
18th-ranked Aquinas College 5 at Hutzell Athletic Center on
Saturday afternoon in the first game of the Lady Cougars
Classic, Day 2.
"What
matters most to me is that we battled back from an early
deficit, at times executed well on defense and most of the
game on offense, and in the end won against an Aquinas team
that deserves to be in the (NAIA) Top 10," Andrews said. "We
showed signs that we are capable of being a pretty good
team, especially the last three games."
Andrews
purposely set his schedule with a Wednesday game and then
back-to-back weekend games.
"It's the
way we may be scheduled if we make it to Sioux City,"
Andrews said. "We were focused despite all the seasonal
distractions and took care of business today."
What
about the players and win No. 150?
"I'm just
glad I could be a part of it and help us keep our momentum
going," senior Tara Dice said after scoring 18 points. "I'm
happy for coach, but more importantly we're all focused on
winning and going deep at nationals."
With Dice
showing renewed confidence in her shooting touch from
3-point range, that's a very real likelihood. She hit
5-of-10 shots from 3-point range.
With Dice
connecting long distance, Marie Kaufmann took care of
scoring around the paint and joined Dice at the top of the
USF scoring list with 18 points. Kacy Blotkamp came off the
bench to score 17 and Jess Hathaway battled her way to 10
points.
Seiss,
who had an unusual double-double with a team-leading 11
rebounds and 10 assists, echoed Dice's sentiments regarding
Andrews' 150th win.
"It's
been fun playing for coach (Andrews) and I'm just proud to
be part of this milestone," Seiss said. "We really didn't
know about it until we heard it on the PA after the game as
we left the floor. It's quite an accomplishment, but none of
us are ready to call it a season."
AC is now
11-2 after challenging the Lady Cougars right through to the
final buzzer. Andrews expected a test from the Saints, who
knocked off fifth-ranked Bethel College on the first day of
the Lady Cougars Classic on Friday night. AC didn't
disappoint racing out to a 7-0 lead on a Claire Hogan
jumper, a Hogan 3-pointer and a Joslyn Narber driving lay-up
with 17:44 to play in the first half.
USF
answered with a 12-2 run that put the Lady Cougars in front
10-9 on a pair of Hathaway free throws and a Blotkamp
baseline jumper for a 12-9 lead with 13:05 left in the half.
Momentum
swung back in favor of the Saints, who won their first 10
games of the season, when Whitney Marsh drilled a 3-pointer
for a 14-12 AC lead with 11:28 to play. It was the last lead
for the Saints.
Dice
rainbowed in a corner 3-pointer for a 15-14 USF lead with
10:33 to play. Her shot ignited a 32-15 surge in the final
10 minutes for the Lady Cougars and a 44-29 halftime lead.
USF finished the first 20 minutes shooting 65 percent with
Blotkamp cracking the double figure column with 13 points,
Kaufmann 10.
The USF
lead ballooned to 18 -- 53-35 on a Dice jumper with 15:31 to
play in the second half. AC went on a 20-9 counter-run
cutting the deficit in half to 64-55 on a Narber basket with
8:34 to play. USF retaliated opening up a 17-point 72-55
lead with an 8-0 run capped by a Hathaway 3-point play.
"It
probably didn't feel like it if you were just watching, but
we felt like we had control even when the lead dropped to
single digits," Dice said. "I don't think any of us were
worried."
Andrews
had a different view.
"We
wanted to take some time off the clock, but we still wanted
to attack," Andrew said. "We got too tentative, but we did
the job when we needed to."
Narber
hit two free throws with 1:35 to play cutting the USF
advantage to eight. AC was within eight two more times in
the waning seconds, but never got any closer.
"Marie
has really played awesome the last three-and-a-half games,"
Andrews said about his junior center who has hit 75 percent
of her shots the last three games. "Toni Burney has an
injury issue she's dealing with, yet she hit a big shot down
the stretch. We're just having people step up each game at
different time in different situations and make plays. Our
offense played really well today."
Box Score
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GO USF -- |
