Wright State University
6-4
Cincinnati
5-4
Women Set Three-Point Record in Win at Cincinnati
12/18/2010 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Wright State women's basketball team hit a school-record 12 three-pointers, nine coming in the second half, as the Raiders wrapped up their five-game road swing with a 65-50 win at Cincinnati Saturday afternoon.
A 9-0 WSU run, five of those coming from Courtney Boyd, broke an early 7-7 tie, but Cincinnati eventually evened the score again at 19 on a Shelly Bellman layup with 5:16 remaining in the first half.
A Maria Bennett three started a 6-0 burst to put Wright State back in front, only to see the Bearcats again tie the game as they tallied the final six points of the half to make it 25-25 at the break.
The Raiders shot just 31 percent in the first half compared to 41 percent for Cincinnati, but WSU forced nine turnovers while committing only five, resulting in a 13-2 differential in points off of turnovers.
Wright State came out on fire in the second half, hitting seven of its first 10 shots, all three-pointers, to build a 46-33 advantage with 12:12 to play.
The Bearcats closed to within nine twice down the stretch, but would get no closer as WSU's biggest lead of the contest was the final margin of victory.
The Raiders shot 46 percent overall in the second half, including nine of 18 from behind the arc, to finish at 38 percent overall while Cincinnati hit for just 27 percent the final 20 minutes to end up at 34 percent for the game. Wright State also made 11 of 15 foul shots compared to just one of two for the Bearcats.
The 12 threes made for WSU is a new school record, eclipsing the 11 made at Loyola on February 28, 1996 and at Green Bay on March 6, 2008.
Boyd tied her season high as she scored 19 points, including five three-pointers, to lead WSU while Bennett, for the second straight game, set a career scoring high with 18 points on six three-pointers. LaShawna Thomas added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Molly Fox had a near double-double of 10 points and nine boards. Shaunda Sandifer chipped in eight rebounds and six assists.
Bellman paced Cincinnati (5-4) with 22 points, 16 coming in the second half.
The 6-4 record for the Raiders is their best through 10 games since also going 6-4 at the start of the 1995-96 season, with that squad winning its sixth in its ninth contest. The win also guarantees Wright State its first winning mark in nonleague play since going 6-5 during the 2004-05 campaign.
WSU closes out the nonleague portion of its schedule on Wednesday, December 22, as the Raiders take on the UCF Knights at Wright State's Nutter Center.
