Maroon uses balanced attack to down Silver
10/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Senior Shaunte Nance-Johnson scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Maroon team to a convincing 70-46 victory over the Silver team at Montana???s season-opening Maroon and Silver scrimmage Tuesday night at Dahlberg Arena. Nance-Johnson was one of five players on the Maroon team to finish in double figures.
Featuring a starting lineup that included both of Montana???s returning starters from last season ??? senior Lauren Beck and junior Sarah Ena ??? and the team???s probable starting point guard for 2009-10 in Nance-Johnson, the Maroon team never trailed Tuesday, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the opening three minutes and going up 29-15 by the half.
The Maroon team scored 41 second-half points on 44.4 percent shooting to maintain a double-digit lead the final 20 minutes.
In addition to Nance-Johnson???s 19-point effort for the Maroon team, freshman Kenzie De Boer came off the bench to score 13, Beck added 12 and freshman Katie Baker and Ena each scored 11.
Baker led both teams with 14 rebounds, finishing with the game???s only double-double.
De Boer and Beck combined to go 6-for-9 from 3-point range.
De Boer added to her impressive stat line with a game-high five assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Freshman Alyssa Smith scored 11 of her team-high 13 points in the second half, as the Silver team scored 31 points over the final 20 minutes after shooting 19.2 percent and scoring just 15 in the first half.
Smith knocked down three 3-pointers in the opening 5:15 of the second half, and the Silver team would get within 10 points, 45-35, on a jumper by sophomore Misty Atkinson with just over 10 minutes remaining.
De Boer scored 10 of her 13 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers, over the next five minutes, helping the Maroon team go on a 15-3 run that put the margin out of reach.
Redshirt freshman Ashley Ferda scored nine points for the Silver team, Atkinson finished with eight, junior Stephanie Stender seven and freshman Kelsey Hildal five.
Ferda grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
The Maroon team shot 40.3 percent for the game and had a 45-40 rebounding advantage. The Silver team shot 28.6 percent for the game and had 17 turnovers to the Maroon team???s nine.
The Lady Griz will conclude their exhibition schedule with a game against Northwest Sports on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m., then open the regular season Friday, Nov. 13, at Colorado State.
