Arkansas State women’s basketball (0-1, 0-0 SBC) held a double-digit lead in the third quarter, but a fierce rally from Western Michigan (1-0, 0-0 MAC) resulted in a 61-52 defeat on Monday night at University Arena.
Crislyn Rose led the Red Wolves with a career-high 15 points on 50 percent (6-for-12) shooting from the floor and a 60 percent (3-for-5) clip from beyond the arc. Anna Griffin joined Rose in the double-digit club with 11 points, while Kennedie Montue tallied nine.
As a team, A-State shot 20-for-63 (31.7 percent) from the field and 9-for-33 (27.3 percent) from three-point range. It was the most three-point attempts for the Red Wolves since attempting 34 on Jan. 27 at Troy.
The Broncos held a 16-12 advantage in assists and a 37-31 lead in rebounds, but the Scarlet and Black doubled their total in offensive rebounds (12-6).A pair of three-pointers from Shaunae Brown and Kyanna Morgan charged a 10-0 run that placed A-State in front 10-1 early in the first. The Red Wolves forced four turnovers and held their opponents scoreless for over four minutes, but the Broncos cut the lead to seven going into the second.
Both teams alternated shots to open the quarter, but five points from Crislyn Rose initiated another 10-point run for the Scarlet and Black. Western Michigan managed to stay within striking distance, scoring seven unanswered points to make the score 30-24 going into the break.Rose led both teams with nine points while Kyanna Morgan tallied two steals after one half of action. A-State forced nine turnovers as a team and shot 35.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The Red Wolves outscored Western Michigan 10-4 in the first seven minutes of the third to claim a 40-28 advantage before momentum shifted. The Broncos closed the quarter on a 12-2 run after the 5:45 mark, with all scores coming via layups.
Griffin opened the final quarter with a trey to make the score 45-40, and later converted a three-point play to extend the lead back to four with 6:29 remaining. However, the second-half surge from Western Michigan would ultimately be too much, as A-State would be outscored 17-4 beyond that point.
The Red Wolves forced 20 turnovers in the contest, which is the most since forcing 20 against South Alabama on Jan. 31.
NEXT UP
A-State travels to Tempe, Arizona for a duel in the desert against Arizona State. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. CT at Desert Financial Arena and can be viewed on ESPN+.
