Jan 6th College News

#3 Cornerstone Edges Tech, 76-75


Fort Wayne, IN – In a battle for the top-spot in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, the 3rd ranked Cornerstone University Golden Eagles came back from a nine point half-time deficit to defeat the 15th ranked Warriors 76-75. With the win Cornerstone improves to 15-2 overall and a spotless 4-0 mark in the conference, while Tech falls to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the WHAC.
The Warriors got off to a fast start, quickly building a 14-7 lead just over six minutes into the game. Cornerstone battled back and cut the lead to just one, 26-25, at the 4:18 mark, but Tech used an 11-1 run to regain control of the game and went into the break up, 37-28. Tech played great defense in the opening period, forcing the visitors into tough shots and limiting them to shooting only 38 percent from the field.
The Golden Eagles started the second half hot, converting a three point play, followed by 3-pointers by Dominic Allen and Ronald Bates, making it a 41-37 Warrior lead. Cornerstone tied the game after four free throws and took their first lead of the game on another triple by Bates at the 17:02 mark.
Tech retook the lead a few minutes later, 47-46, on a deep three from Manny Hendrix (Salt Lake City, UT/Texas Pan-American) and built their advantage to six following a pair of free throws from Ashton Foster (Vallejo, CA/Delaware State), 53-47.
The two teams remained close, trading baskets before Cornerstone took a 66-61 lead with 5:32 to play. The Warriors didn’t back down and fought back to tie the game at 72 on Clyde McKinney’s (Lansing, MI/Ferris State) fifth 3-pointer of the night with 2:19 remaining.
Cornerstone answered with a score to take a two point lead. Hendrix trimmed the deficit to one after a free throw before the Golden Eagles hit another jumper in the paint to take a 76-73 lead with less than a minute to go. Hendrix then hit a tough shot in the paint, making it a one point game. The Warriors defense came up with a stop and had one last chance to upset the Golden Eagles but McKinney’s shot at the buzzer didn’t go.
After a 22 point performance last week, earning McKinney WHAC Player of the Week honors, he led the Warriors with another 22 point effort, knocking down five three’s on the night. Hendrix finished with 15 points and dished out a team-high five assists and Anthony Johnson (Gary, IN/Andrean) scored a season-high 14 points.
The Warriors are back in action Saturday, January 8 against Marygrove College at 3 p.m.
Peregrines’ Comeback Falls Short in Loss to Cardinal Stritch

HAMMOND, Ind. – The Purdue University Calumet women’s basketball team nearly rallied from a 17-point deficit against CCAC power Cardinal Stritch, but would end up on the losing end of a 62-60 decision on Wednesday night. The Peregrines fall to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play, after losing for just the third time in nine games at the Fitness and Recreation Center this season.
Purdue Calumet struggled from the field, suffering through another poor shooting night against CCAC competition. The Black and Gold managed just 27.6 percent shooting in the contest, but still found themselves on the verge of victory.
Cardinal Stritch connected on 43.8 percent of its shots from the field on its way to a 37-29 lead at the break, as Purdue Calumet went 10-of-38 in the opening period.
The Wolves continued to push on in the second half, stretching their lead to as many as 17, 50-33, in the first four minutes remaining. PUC would respond with an 8-0, cutting the lead to nine, 50-41, on Lindsey Whitcomb’s layup, but Cardinal Stritch answered with four-straight points to push the gap back to double-digits.
The Peregrines cut the lead to five, 59-54, on Alex Starr’s second trifecta of the half with 2:31 left, but PUC would go scoreless over the next two minutes as Cardinal Stritch appeared to put the game on ice with a pair of free throws from Julie Raeder with 24 ticks on the clock.
However, freshman Brooklyn Short would step up in the clutch, knocking down two three-pointers in a 14-second span to pull PUC within two, 62-60, with five seconds left. After a quick foul by the Peregrines, CSU’s Angela Gray went to the charity stripe close out the game. Gray would miss the front end of the 1-and-1, but Tierra Turner’s heave at the buzzer would fall short.
Stephaine Beck led all scorers with 17 points on the night, knocking down four shots from beyond the arc. Starr added 11 points with three treys, while Short joined them in double-figures with 10 points and three assists. Turner finished with a team-best 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Wabash College News

A 25-7 run in the first 11 minutes of the second half boosted Wabash to a 73-57 win Wednesday night over Denison University to allow Wabash to improve to 13-0 for the season and 5-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
The victory sets up a major showdown Saturday afternoon in Crawfordsville between the seventh-ranked Little Giants and number-one ranked Wooster (13-0, 4-0 NCAC).
View photos from the Little Giants' win here.
Senior guard Wes Smith (left) was nearly perfect from the field, connecting on 10-of-12 shots, while junior guard Aaron Zinnerman almost matched his teammate shot for shot. Zinnerman scored a career-best 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
Wabash hit its first nine shots from the field, but the Big Red answered by firing in their first four shot attempts. The Little Giants eventually stretched their lead to 11 points on a Zinnerman jumper with 13:50 remaining in the first half. Dimonde Hale and Marr Mansfield responded with eight points to trim the Wabash advantage back to three points, eventually trailing the home Little Giants by four at the break.
The Little Giants shot a blistering 68 percent (15-of-22) from the field in the opening period and came out of the locker room in the second half just as hot. After two free throws from Brett Tiberi cut the lead to 37-35 in the first 15 seconds of the final period, Wabash exploded for 13 of the next 16 points scored in the game. Zinnnerman drilled a 3-pointer, followed by back-to-back treys and a layup by senior Ben Burkett to put Wabash in front 50-38. Derek Bailey, who joined Smith and Zinnerman in double-figure scoring with a season-high 12 points, added jumper to answer a basket by Alex Longi from Denison. Another Smith basket with 13 minutes left to play pushed the lead to 15 points. The Big Red would get no closer in the contest as Wabash cruised to the 16-point win.
Wabash finished 25-of-51 from the field for 49 percent. Defensively the Little Giants held Denison (4-9, 1-4 NCAC) to eight second-half baskets. Hale finished with 15 points to lead the Big Red in scoring, while Tiberi tossed in 11. Wabash dominated the boards, outrebounding Denison 41-23. Nick Curosh grabbed a career-best 11 boards to pace the Little Giants. Zinnerman (right) had four assists to lead Wabash in that category

Western Michigan News
KALAMAZOO-- Western Michigan University's women's basketball team whittled a 19-point deficit down to as little as six in the closing minutes but was unable to get any closer, falling 72-62 to the Chippewas at University Arena Wednesday night.



With the loss, WMU fell to 0-1 in the MAC and 4-10 overall. Ebony Cleary notched the 14th double-double of her career and fourth of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Taylor Manley also reached double figures for WMU, scoring 14 points and connecting on 4-of-10 attempts from long distance. Five Broncos grabbed five or more rebounds, as the Broncos outrebounded the Chippewas by a 48-30 margin, including a 19-7 advantage on the offensive end.



CMU (9-4, 1-0 MAC) opened up a 42-25 halftime lead, keyed by a pair of 7-0 runs in the first half. The Chippewas pushed the lead to 19 early in the second half before the Broncos began to rally back. CMU shot 45.5 percent for the game (25-55), including 50 percent on 15-of-30 shooting in the first half. WMU shot 35.5 percent on 22-of-62 shooting.



Defense was a key to the Broncos run back into the game, as WMU held the Chippewas without a field goal between 18:39 and 12:09 of the second half. That stretch allowed the Broncos to pull within 10, 48-38, on an Aurielle Anderson pull-up jumper with 13:00 to play. WMU pulled within seven just minutes later after a couple post-up moves by Cleary and a stick-back by DeAirra Goss.



CMU responded with an 8-2 run to push the lead back to 60-47 with 5:10 to play. Anderson scored five of the Broncos' next seven points to cut the deficit to 60-54 with 2:54 to play. However, that was as close as WMU would get the rest of the way. Anderson filled the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds and three assists on the night for WMU

Women Top Holy Cross For 8th Straight Win

Katie Hacker (Indianapolis, IN/Franklin Central) tallied her second double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds as IU South Bend (11-3) extended their winning streak to eight games with a 71-66 win over Holy Cross. Betsy Grogan (Battle Ground, IN/West Lafayette Harrison) added a dozen points for the Titans - including a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw stripe, while Brooke Daugherty (Terre Haute, IN/South) added ten more.

The Titans scored the first basket of the game, as Daugherty got free under the rim just ten seconds into the game. The Saints, however, had an immediate answer, ripping off a 10-1 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes to take a 10-3 lead.

Lizzie Stapke (Highland, IN/Highland) hit a triple to end the spurt, and the Titans would spend the six minutes cutting into the Holy Cross advantage, eventually tying the game at 18 on the first of three made free throws by Hacker midway through the opening period. For the final ten minutes of the half, the teams traded baskets and leads, with neither able to open an advantage larger than four. Grogan closed the scoring for IU South Bend with a pair of free throws, giving the Titans a 36-35 halftime lead.

Out of the break, the Saints used the first four minutes to open up a 45-40 lead, prompting a Titan timeout. A quick 9-3 burst for IU South Bend gave them the lead back at 49-48, and after the teams traded scored several more times, the Saints found themselves with a one point lead at 58-57.

From there, the Titans found their stroke, embarking on another 9-3 run to give themselves a 67-60 lead with just under four minutes to play. The Saints would connect on a pair of baskets over the final two minutes of the game, but the Titans hit their free throws down the stretch to ice the win away.

Emily Strilich (Valparaiso, IN/Boone Grove) added a career-high eight rebounds in just 14 minutes, helping the Titans to out-rebound Holy Cross 38-19. Grogan's 8-for-8 from the free throw line, combined with Hacker's 7-for-9, Daugherty's 6-for-8 and 2-for-2 each from Stapke, Kimmie Hummer (South Bend, IN/Mishawaka Marian [Goshen]) andKayla George (Peru, IN/Maconaquah) gave the team a 27-for-31 mark from the line, good for 87%.

The Saints were led by Megan Eve's 17 points, as she connected on her first five attempts from behind the three point line