LIVONIA,
Mich. –
Behind 14 points from Becca Rufli (Fenton, Mich.) and
11 markers from Caryn Inman (Oxford, Mich.) the
Madonna women's basketball team held on for a 50-45 win over
visiting Siena Heights inside the Activities Center. With the win MU
improved to 12-14 overall and 7-5 in the WHAC, while SHU fell to
14-12 and 5-6 in loop action.
SHU took an early 2-0 lead
and led 5-4 with 18:07 left in the opening half and that was the Saints' final
lead of the game as the Crusaders went on a 7-2 run to take the lead at 11-6
with 12:19 left.
The Saints cut the Madonna
lead down to one on a Lauren Crockett triple from the corner, making it 13-12 in
favor of the home side. MU built its lead back out to eight at 23-15 on a Rufli
jumper with 3:46 left. SHU cut it down to six twice before the half, but a 5-0
MU run to end the opening 20 minutes gave the royal blue and gold a 28-17 lead
heading into halftime.
MU pushed its lead to as
many as 16 twice in the first seven minutes of the second half to lead
41-25 behind a Rufli put-back layup with 12:34 showing on the clock. Siena
Heights cut the Madonna lead to single digits at 44-35 with 3:22 left but MU
regained a double digit margin on two Inman free throws.
SHU got the lead down to
seven on an Erin Cassidy layup with six ticks left before Rufli split a pair of
charity tosses to give MU a 50-42 lead. SHU's Kara Crossett hit a triple with
less than a second left to make the final score 50-45 in favor of the Crusaders.
Inman led the way with
eight rebounds while Lauhnna Waybrant
(Ortonville, Mich.) grabbed seven of her
own. Onicko Biggs led SHU with 11 points and 18 rebounds.
MU plays its final road game of the regular
season on Saturday in a 1pm tip at Concordia.
Contact:
Patrick Moore (734) 432-5834
Sports Information Director
