Lady Bucs Suffer Another Heart-Breaking Loss
By Stephen Fuller

Memphis, TN--Despite the odds stacked against the Christian Brothers University women’s basketball team, playing against its third nationally ranked team in as many games, the Lady Buccaneers continued to show that resolve and character displayed the entire 2001-2002 campaign. CBU would take the seventh ranked Arkansas Tech Golden Suns into the last minute of regulation before falling tonight 53-49 inside De La Salle Gymnasium.

The Lady Bucs, down by 14 with just over ten minutes to play, battled back behind a 19-7 run to pull within two points with four minutes of action remaining. Each team traded points down the stretch before Arkansas Tech would ice the game hitting 7 of 9 free throws, the last two coming with 27 seconds to play.

Ranked first in the South Regional rankings, and seventh nationally by USA Today/ESPN, Arkansas Tech enjoyed a 25-20 halftime advantage on a 9-3 run to close out the period. ATU would earn a solid 55.6 first-half shooting percentage from the field. The Lady Bucs could only connect on 8-of-22 attempts from the field in the first half, equaling a 36.4 shooting percentage.

The second-half would see CBU shoot slightly better at 37.5 percent. The Golden Suns would continue to scorch the nets connecting on 57.1 percent of their attempts. The Lady Bucs would stay in the game by forcing 16 turnovers and thieving nine steals. CBU would also out rebound the taller visitors 23-20.

Arkansas Tech improves to 16-2 overall, 8-1 in league action, while Christian Brothers University slips to a 9-10 record overall and a 2-7 mark in the GSC standings.

Crystal Howard (Memphis, TN) and Sarah Condra (Millington, TN) would lead the Lady Buccaneers offense with 12 points a piece, while Amonica Wiggins (Duncan, OK) would contribute 10 points for the team. Howard would lead both teams with 7 rebounds and Condra’s scores came on 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc.

Chanovia Rhodes’ game-high 20 points would lead the Golden Suns offense. The 6’2" junior forward connected on 6-of her-10 tries from the field while collecting five caroms and one block. Eight of Rhodes’ points came from the free throw line, hitting 8-of-11 attempts. Teammates Ginny Shaw and Emily Walker added 12 points each.

Christian Brothers will return to action on the road in Monticello, AR in a GSC match-up against Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday, February 2nd at 6:00 PM.