February 9, 2008

#19 Washburn Rides Second-Half Burst to 71-54 Victory

    TOPEKA -- Nineteenth-ranked Washburn University scored 19 of the first 21 points in the second half to turn a nine-point advantage into a 26-point margin and the Lady Blues never looked back in rolling to a 71-54 win over Pittsburg State University Saturday (Feb. 9) at Lee Arena.
    The Gorillas (9-12, 3-9 MIAA), playing without starting guard DePrice Taylor due to a death in her family and forward Victoria Martin due to illness, battled toe to toe with Washburn (17-4, 9-3 MIAA) in the early goings. The two teams were tied at 17-17 midway through the first half, before the Lady Blues used a 14-4 run to gain separation.
    Corky Stiger led three Washburn players in double figures with 15 points. Amanda Holmes added 14 and Hope Gregory chipped in with 10 for the Lady Blues, who shot 47.5 percent from the field in the contest.
    Brianna Buchanan led the Gorillas with 15 points, while Marissa Poppe and Laura Glenn added 14 and 10. Pitt State converted just 29.8 percent (17 of 57) of its shots in the game.