Friday, March 07, 2008

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EDINBURG, Tex. - The FGCU women's basketball team will play their second game of the Division I Independent Tournament Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm against the third seeded Chicago State Cougars.

Know Your Opponent: #3 Chicago State
Last Game vs. Cal St. Bakersfield (Mar. 6, 2008)

Cougars Survive Late Rally To Defeat Cal State Bakersfield In First Round Of Independent Tournament
Edinburg, Tex. – Junior guard Jasmin Dixon scored a team-high 19 points and pulled down five rebounds, as Chicago State survived a late scare to defeat Cal State Bakersfield, 65-62, in the first round of the National Independent Tournament on Thursday afternoon in Edinburg, Texas.

The third seeded Cougars (15-12) move on to the second round of the Independent Tournament to take on Florida Gulf Coast on Friday afternoon at 3:30 central.

Freshman forward Courtney Waldon finished with a double-double as she scored 11 points and hauled down 11 rebounds, while front court mate Nicole Clark scored nine points and hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds in the win.

Kelley Tarver led three Roadrunners in double-figures scoring a game-high 24 points, most coming from the charity stripe where she connected on 16-of-18 free-throws. Tiffany Belt chipped in with 13 points and Naomi Johnson had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

CSU shot 41.7 percent from the floor, connecting on 25-of-60 shots, while Bakersfield was held to only 33.9 percent. CSU also outrebounded the roadrunners 50-31.

The first-half was all Chicago State as they came out the gate smoking, taking a 15-5 lead in the first seven minutes of the game, led by eight early points from Courtney Waldon. The Cougars extended their lead to 25-14 with 6:36 remaining in the half on two free-throws by Jasmin Dixon. CSU extended their lead to 15 points and went into the locker room with a 38-23 lead.

Chicago State led by as many as 18 points just three minutes into the second half before Cal State Bakersfield (11-16) mounted a comeback forcing 13 Cougar turnovers helping the roadrunners cut the lead to one 62-61 with 1:53 remaining. Zondranika Williams would seal the victory for the Cougars as she connected on three free throws to help CSU survive the rally, 65-62.

Chicago State improves to 4-1 at neutral sites this season.