PARKSIDE 76, LAKE SUPERIOR STATE 63
The trio of redshirt-junior Taylor Stephen along with freshmen Hannah Plockelman and Alyssa Nelson led the Rangers to a victory over Lake Superior State (LSSU) with 13 points a piece. Parkside scored 37 points off the bench to help seal the deal against the Lakers.
HEAR FROM COACH CONELY
"Our conference is tough," first year head coach Jen Conely said. "It's always great to get a solid road win.
"As always, it starts with us getting stops on defense," Conely added. "There were some spurts where we were excellent defensively and we took them out of what they wanted to do."
"I thought Taylor Stephen did a great job pressuring their point guard and that created steals for her and her teammates, which we were able to convert on the other end," Conely stated" "Offensively, we've been more patient and are taking great shots."
"I love how we had a nice balance in scoring with solid support from the bench," Conely concluded.
FIRST HALF
To start the game, the Rangers put on the pressure and opened with a 12-0 lead, holding the Lakers scoreless for nearly 7:00 into the game. LSSU was able to put some points on the board, but the Rangers held the lead as the first quarter ended with a score of 17-11. The teams went back-and-forth as the second quarter started until Parkside went on an 8-0 run midway through the quarter, bringing the score to 27-18 with 3:31 left until the half. As the game went to halftime, the score added up to 33-24.
SECOND HALF
In the third quarter, the Ranger defense held the Lakers to only 10 points, while scoring 21 which brought the score to 54-34, making it Parkside's largest lead of the game. Both teams went even in the fourth quarter as the Rangers saw their lead grow. Sophomore Alisha Murphy added a season-high seven points off the bench, all of which came in the fourth quarter off free throws, to help secure the win for Parkside.
STATWORTHY
Stephen, Plockelman and Nelson led the Rangers with 13 points a piece followed by graduate student Ali Bettencourt with 12 points. Junior Carolina Rahkonen had six rebounds in the game who was trailed by Plockelman with five. Redshirt-senior Blair Arthur finished the game with five assists. Parkside outscored the Lakers 37-9 in bench points.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Rangers will play at Ferris State Saturday, Jan. 19 at noon before returning to DeSimone next week as they face Purdue Northwest on Jan. 26 at 1 p.m.
