Women's Basketball Can't Tame NCAA D1 Broncos

(Kalamazoo, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar women's basketball team played their second game in as many days, as they were on the road to take on the NCAA D1 Western Michigan Broncos in an exhibition for the Cougars.

The Cougars found themselves in a defensive battle in the first quarter, as the two teams combined for 14 points in the opening 10 minutes.  Taedom Stein hit a jumper for the Cougars' first points, and Samantha Hoelscher would make a layup with 37 seconds to play to make the score 10-4 through the first quarter.

WMU would start the second quarter strong, and built a double-digit lead, going on a 14-2 run to start the second quarter.  Riley Merryfield would knock down a three to spark the Cougars, but Cleary would go into the half trailing 32-15.

Taedom Stein took over the third quarter, starting the half with a made three and an and-one layup to cut the Bronco lead to single digits.  After a Bronco basket, a Mileisha Rodriguez layup kept the lead at 9 points.  A short run by WMU gave the hosts a double-digit lead, but Cleary finished the quarter on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 9 points after Amy Jackson made four free throws and Samantha Hoelscher hit a late layup before the horn sounded, and Cleary trailed 48-39 through the third quarter.

After a scoreless 1:40 to start the fourth, WMU hit a three to regain the double-digit lead.  Another Bronco three expanded the lead to 15.  Mileisha Rodriguez ended the scoring drought with a layup and the and-one free throw, cutting the deficit to 12 points.  The Broncos would turn to the full-court pressure, and it forced the Cougars into 7 second half turnovers and 29% shooting down the stretch, as the Broncos pulled away to earn the 70-48 victory.

Taedom Stein led the Cougars with 17 points and 6 rebounds.  Mileisha Rodriguez would add 11 points and 4 rebounds.

Cleary will return to action next Wednesday, December 4, when they host the UNOH Racers at Gannon Gymnasium.  The game is set to begin at 5:30 PM.