WARRIORS EDGED OUT BY BLUE DEVILS ON THE ROAD

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - The Warriors' effort to surmount a large second-half deficit against Lawrence Tech came up just one point short on Saturday afternoon, with RCU falling 69-70. After a very slow start, the Warriors recovered with a much more efficient second half that saw the game come down to a final possession. Jacey Somers led the Warriors in scoring with 19 points on 5-10 from three, followed by Samone Andrews with 15. 

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST HALF

It was a difficult time for the RCU offense in the first quarter, with the team finding themselves down 24-11 after ten minutes of play. During the period, the Blue Devils shot 10-16 while RCU went 4-15. After the Warriors began the game with a 6-2 lead, the Blue Devils embarked on an 18-2 run thanks to made threes and points off turnovers. 

The teams traded baskets in the second quarter, but RCU's defense began to show signs of life, with Andrews scoring off an on-ball steal in transition. The hosts continued to excel in the perimeter and keep RCU at a distance, but the Warriors' slowly began to find openings in the paint. Heading into halftime, RCU was down 41-26. 

SECOND HALF

RCU got the start it needed to begin the third quarter, thanks to a tough layup in the post by Melanie Moore. The Warriors began the quarter on a 7-0 run, with Somers nailing a wing three as the exclamation point. Despite some small spurts of points by Lawrence Tech, the Warriors kept chipping away thanks to Moore's paint presence, attacking the basket and drawing fouls. Tambre Williams would find Somers for a big three to get the Warriors within single digits, and thanks to some savvy play in the final minute by Andrews and Ashley Loon, RCU found themselves within seven with a quarter to go. 

The Warriors maintained the aggression and saw that pay dividends to begin the fourth quarter, with Williams running the floor and catching an outlet pass from Andrews for an easy layup. On the next possession, Shahd Bakkar picked the pocket of an LTU ballhandler and scored on the other end to make it a five-point game. Williams continued her excellent second half with two more layups out of the fourth quarter media timeout to suddenly cut the LTU lead to 65-64. 

Following an LTU layup with 2:39 to go, the Warriors tied the game thanks to a contested three by Somers and took the lead thanks to a steal by Williams that led to a transition layup for Andrews. The Blue Devils answered with a three on the next possession, and RCU couldn't find another basket to steal a win in Don Ridler Fieldhouse. 

STAT OF THE GAME

Williams stuffed the stat sheet in this one, recording six points, three steals, three rebounds, and three assists all in the second half. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors continue their road stretch with a matchup at Defiance on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 5:30 p.m.

Hussein Murray - RCU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Hannah Mitkus - Hannah Mitkus Photography