Lady Cougar basketball ends in first-round loss |
Kumar Bhooshan |
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Turnovers again led to a Lady Cougar loss, but this time it led to the end of their season. On March 9, SIUE was downed by Northern Michigan University 65-58 in the game that marked the end of seniors Misi Clark's,Sarah Cook's and Crystal Gladson's SIUE careers. The Lady Cougars finished the season with a record of 20-9 overall and 14-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. In her final game, Clark, the all-time leading scorer in SIUE history, finished with 22 points to lead the team for the 20th time in the 2000-01 season. Gladson finished her tenure as a Lady Cougar, scoring 16 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Cook finished with eight points including a perfect 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line. Cook was also able to pull down five rebounds and block four shots. Guard Jessica Robert was not able to put up big numbers on offense.She scored four points but was able to lead the team in rebounds with eight. Sophomore Liz DeShasier was able to score four points and grab four rebounds. The Lady Cougars were unable to find an answer for guard Marisa DellAngelo who caught fire from behind the three-point line, going 4-for-7 finishing with 22 points. DellAngelo also went 6-for-6 from the free throw line. The Wildcats got productive games from Jill Gobert and Maryellen Poutanen. Gobert went 6-for-10 from the field finishing with 12 points. Gobert also finished with five rebounds. Poutanen finished with 13 points, going 4-for-9 from the field and pulling down three rebounds. The Lady Cougars out-rebounded the Wildcats 46-32, but that was the only positive statistic in which SIUE led. The Wildcats shot a consistent 80 percent from the free-throw line all game. The Lady Cougars shot 100 percent from the line in the first half but shot a dismal 50 percent in the second half. Northern Michigan was also able to shoot 5-for-7 from behind the arc, amassing a 13-point lead, only to have it cut to three points after a late rally by the Lady Cougars. In the second half SIUE came back to hold a two-point lead with 1 minute and 57 seconds remaining in the game. With 55 seconds left, Poutanen hit a crucial three-pointer to put the Wildcats up by one point. After Poutanen's three-pointer, the Wildcats never looked back. Turnovers have plagued the Lady Cougars all year long. In the matchup with Northern Michigan, the Lady Cougars turned the ball over 27 times, their largest total all year. Northern Michigan took care of the ball committing only 11 turnovers. Clark finished the season leading the team carrying a 16.8 points-per-game average. Clark also led in assists per game with four, steals with two per game and rebounds with 6.2 per game. Gladson finished the year as the Lady Cougars leading shot blocker, averaging 1.4 a game | |