Stan Plewe/Utah Tech Athletics

Women's Basketball 3/11/2011 5:37:13 PM Jeff Cluff, Coordinator of Internal Operations/Media Relations

WBB: Red Storm drop NCAA Opener to CSU Monterey Bay 68-59

Brown scores 19 points in loss

Brown led the Red Storm with 19 points and 9 rebounds

Box Score

BOX SCORE

POMONA, CA-Playing in their first NCAA tournament in school history, the #13 ranked and #6 seeded Dixie State College women's basketball team didn't have thing's turn out the way they had planned. The Red Storm dropped their opening game to #3 seeded Cal State University Monterey Bay 68-59 in Kellogg Gym on the campus of host school Cal Poly Pomona.

The Red Storm (24-4) started sluggishly and saw themselves in an early hole trailing 21-10 with 10:42 remaining in the first half.

Playing against the NCAA leader in scoring defense, DSC couldn't seem to get in any sort of rhythm early.

Coach Angie Kristensen said, “Our guards missed a lot of layups. Sometimes we get those calls at home or other places. This was a very physical game. Maybe our kids aren't adjusted to that.”

But the resilient Red storm team wouldn't go away, Johnna Brown (Las Vegas, NV/Centennial ) and Sheila Adams (Layton, UT/Layton) would hit three pointers cutting the Otter lead to four points.

After trading baskets, Adams would curl around a high screen and hit from 7-feet behind the arc to give the Red Storm some life going into the locker room. CSUMB led 33-30 at intermission.

In the second half, the Otters (27-3) began the half on a 10-1 run to build their lead to 12 points. Second chance opportunities are what gave CSUMB life all day. CSUMB would build their largest lead to 15 points with 8:44 remaining.

Brown who would finish with a game-high 19 points would hit her third three pointer of the game, leading a DSC 12-2 run to cut the Otter lead to four points at 57-53 with 4:33 left.

“The team that sustains the runs of the game is going to win. There were a couple things to focus on: rebounding and getting stops,” said CSUMB head coach Renee Jiminez.

The Otters would out rebound the Red Storm 46-28 for the game and they would have 19 of those on the offensive side. Just to many second chances for the Red Storm to overcome.

Sophomore forward Brown said, “They were a good team, but we got outrebounded. If you give a team 20 extra rebounds, if they score on 10 of those, that's the difference right there. We did turn our game on until 10 minutes into the game. By then, it's hard to chip out at a 10 point lead in a national tournament.”

Both teams would shoot 40 percent from the floor, but the difference was the 18-26 from the line that CSUMB shot compared to the 7-11 for the Red Storm.
Junior guard Adams hit four three pointers for 15 points and senior forward Breann Hill (Harrisburg, PA/McDevitt) added 10 points. The nation's leading blocker in senior center Erica Carlson (Tucson, AZ/Canyon del Oro HS) finished with three blocks, seven points, and eight rebounds.

Four Otter players scored in double figures with Shonetta Crain-Williams earning a double-double by scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, with nine of those on the offensive side.

CSUMB will advance and play Grand Canyon tomorrow at 5:00 PM. #2 GCU defeated #7 Seattle Pacific 53-51.

How does a successful season help build for next year? Coach Angie Kristensen said,” We're returning probably 80 percent of our scoring. We're excited about the returners coming back. We got a couple of key recruits. Now they got a taste of this tournament I think they know how to get there.”

Let's hope next year ends different.

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