An 11-0 run late in the
second half broke the game open on Saturday afternoon as Lamar upended
Valparaiso 74-58 in the Crusaders’ final
game of the Preseason WNIT held in Beaumont, Texas.
Betsy Adams
(Monticello, Ind./Twin Lakes H.S.) led the
Crusaders for the third straight time with 15 points, 13 of which came in the
first half, while Ashley Timmerman (Pontiac, Ill./Pontiac
H.S.) added 10 points for the Brown and Gold.
“I thought had a good trip
overall for us,” head coach Keith
Freeman said. “We got a win (against
Austin Peay on Friday) and played quality teams. All three teams we have played so far were
NCAA Tournament teams last year.”
The first half was closely
contested throughout. Valpo utilized
balanced scoring early, as the first 11 Crusader points were score by five
different players.
Lamar built a 22-16 lead with
8:14 to play before intermission before the Crusaders dialed warmed up from
long range. A three-pointer by Timmerman
followed by a put back from Gina Lange
(Wyoming,
Minn./Forest Lake H.S.) cut the deficit to
one.
Following a Cardinal basket, Adams tied the game at 24 with a triple of her own. A Tabitha
Gerardot (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury
H.S.) three gave Valpo a 27-26 lead with 3:27 to play before intermission and
another Adams trey, her third of the first half, helped the Crusaders go into
the locker room tied at 30.
After the teams traded
baskets to start the second half, Lamar scored 10 straight points over a 1:45
span to build a 42-32 lead, an advantage the Cardinals would not relinquish the
rest of the way.
The Crusaders tried to fight
back, cutting the deficit to 42-38 with 14:01 to play as Timmerman stole the
ball and went coast to coast for the basket.
A lay-in by Lange followed to close within two, but that would be as
close as Valpo could get the rest of the way.
The Cardinal lead stayed
between four and eight until the 9:15 mark when the Crusaders went cold from
the floor. With Lamar up 55-51, the
Cardinals went on an 11-0 run, holding Valpo scoreless for more than five
minutes, and pushing the advantage to 15 points.
The Crusaders managed just
seven points the rest of the way, falling for the second time in the
tournament.
“We did a nice job for the
first 30 minutes of the game,” Freeman said.
“They had a stretch were their lead got to 8-10 points and we tried to
play faster than we can play.”
Valpo committed 22 turnovers in
the contest, and was outrebounded 41-32, giving up 18 boards on the offensive
glass. Lange led the Crusaders on the
glass with a career high eight rebounds, and also matched her career best with
eight points.
Jenna Plumley led four
Cardinals in double figures with 14 points and added six assists while Ang
Green tallied 12 points. Lamar (2-1)
shot 42.9% from the floor, including 38.1% from three-point range.
“They are a good team,”
Freeman concluded. “Their point guard
(Plumley) is a different player to play against.”
Valparaiso will return to the Athletics-Recreation
Center for the 2010-2011 home opener
on Wednesday evening as the Crusaders host instate rival Ball State. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: This
was the first meeting ever between Valpo and Lamar … Adams has scored in double
figures in all three games this season … Maegan
Callaway (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville H.S.) scored seven points
for the second straight game in just six minutes of action … Lamar has won 15
straight games at home and has not lost at Montague Center since March, 2009.
