DeCoud and Stoia combine for 43 as Crusaders defeat Blackburn
CARLINVILLE, Ill. – The University of Dallas women's basketball team (7-3) captured the momentum early on and cruised to 20-point victory on Friday night at Blackburn College (0-9). Dallas led 20-10 after one quarter and outscored the Beavers in three-of-four quarters en route to a 76-56 final. After dropping the last two, the Crusaders end 2016 on a high note, posting their second highest scoring output only shy of the 83 on the first day of December versus Southwestern Adventist University.
STAT NOTABLES
- Michelle DeCoud (Monument, Colo.) boasted her fifth double-double this year with game-highs in points (22) and rebounds (11). The forward notched a season-best in points and was the lone player in double figures for boards.
- Seana Stoia (Tulsa, Okla.) was right behind contributing 21 points. This is the fourth contest on the season the senior has eclipsed 20 points. She added seven boards.
- Holly Tonry (Seattle, Wash.) added nine points and Sammi Tso (Las Vegas, Nev.) tossed eight points and dished four assists.
- Dallas shot 48.2 percent (27-56) in field goals, 36.4 (4-11) in three-point field goals, and 18-for-24 (75%) from the free throw line. This compared to 40 percent (22-55), 1-for-11 (9.1%), and 11-for-20 (55%) for the opposition.
- The Crusaders won the battle on the boards by 10 (40-30). UD also edged points in the paint (34-30), assists (14-9), and 2nd chance points (18-10).
- Both squads turned the ball over 16 times.
- The Beavers were led by Elisabeth Johnston with 14 points.
- Aleisha Stiltner also broke double-digits in scoring with 11 and added five rebounds and swiped four steals. Raven Holmes matched the team-high in rebounds with five.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Dallas led after one quarter for the second straight night, boasting a 20-10 edge on the road at the end of the frame. It was a slow start for both teams, as neither earned a field goal until almost two minutes had gone by. Stoia got the Crusaders on the board first making one-of-two free throws with nearly a minute gone by. Another minute later, Blackburn's Raven Holmes hit a layup after garnering an offensive rebound to claim the game's first field goal. Stoia was responsible for UD's first three points – all at the charity stripe.
DeCoud tallied the first made basket on the floor for the visitors with 6:54 left in the quarter. That propelled the Crusaders back in front, 5-4, where they never trailed from that point on. DeCoud had the next jumper and then Tonry connected on UD's first trey a minute later. She added a layup on the next possession to push a 12-4 advantage.
Stoia's jump shot near the midway mark of the quarter pushed the lead to double-digits (14-4) for the first time that night. Dallas engineered a 17-6 run from the team's first field goal by DeCoud mentioned above. This included the Crusaders rattling 13 unanswered points during close to a four-minute stretch.
The Beavers scored the first four points in the opening minute of the next quarter. Despite outscoring Dallas 18-16 in the second quarter, the home squad never pulled closer than five on two occasionally with five and a half minute to go. Angela Andrews was responsible for both field goals that cut the margin to five (25-20 and 27-22). Stoia countered each of her baskets with a pair of points to keep the Crusaders ahead by seven. Caitlyn Worry (Lumberton, Texas) drained a trifecta at 4:26 until halftime to balloon the lead back at double-digits (32-22). Stoia had a jumper with three seconds remaining to result in a UD 36-28 edge at intermission.
After allowing the first basket to start the second stanza, the Crusaders poured five in 30 seconds with Tonry and Stoia going back-to-back. Tonry's field goal was for three – her only one in as many attempts this game. Stoia's jumper moved the lead back to double figures (41-30). Blackburn registered the next five points to get things within six, but the Navy and White responded with just as many back and eventually completed the third by outscoring the home side 19-13.
Dallas totaled its highest scoring frame in the final 10 minutes with 21 points. The largest lead of the game was 24 with 3:35 minutes to play. Stoia wrapped up her final basket to make the score 69-45. The Beavers scored six in a row, but Nerissa Periola (Chula Vista, Calif.), Shelby Waldron (Banning, Calif.), Lindsey Gendron (Houston, Texas), and Panda Green (Farmersville, Texas), kept the game out of reach with the remaining respective UD points. They accounted for seven-of-nine points the bench totaled.
UP NEXT
Dallas begins 2017 with three straight home games. The first is a rescheduled date with Hendrix College on January 3 at 3 p.m. This makes up the postponed date two Sunday's ago.