Tigers finish season on somber note
Posted: Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Olivet Nazarene - 56
Robert Morris (Ill.) - 76
Box Score
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - It was upset city in the far south Chicago metroplex as the #5-seeded Robert Morris Lady Eagles, winners of just two conference games this season, hit the court hot and shocked the #4-seeded Tigers of Olivet Nazarene University 76-56 in the quarterfinals of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament on March 3, 2009, at McHie Arena.
Three-pointers were the early key for the Lady Eagles as Tonesha Members, Ashley Williams, and Delisa Greene teamed up for six from beyond the arc. Meanwhile ONU could manage just 25 percent from the floor in the opening stanza while the Lady Eagles hit at better than fifty percent. RMC won the first half's battle on the boards as well, out-rebounding the Tigers 25-17 while building a 45-20 half-time lead.
The Tigers cut into the lead with spirited play in the opening minutes of the second half. Led by freshman Jaimie Buckman (Morton, Ill.) and senior Jade Stanlick (Edwardsville, Ill.), ONU put together a 13-6 run to cut into the Lady Eagles' lead.
RMC responded to the challenge and had regained their half-time edge by the 6:00 mark. The Tigers suffered a big blow at that point as senior Brooke Peterson (Arlington Heights, Ill.) was whistled for her fifth foul. She left with 15 points, nine scored during the Tigers' attempt to climb back into the game during the second period.
RMC was led in scoring by Jerita Gordon. The sophomore forward from Chicago, Ill., scored 22 while grabbing eight rebounds and coming up with seven steals. Members hit for 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. Shante Clark had 12 points and nine rebounds, while Christina Barnett dished out ten assists for the Lady Eagles.
Besides Peterson with 15, ONU had two other players reach double figures: Kathryn Nelson (Racine, Wis.) with 14 and Poppy Miller (New Haven, IN) with 13.
The loss ends ONU's season with the Tigers at 16-14. The Lady Eagles improve to 11-18 and will advance to the Conference Semifinals for a Thursday, March 5, 2009, date with the #1-seeded Cougars of Saint Xavier University. That game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at the Shannon Center on the SXU Campus in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood of Chicago's Southwest Side.
With the closing of the season, ONU career records have been broken by four seniors. Jade Stanlick has moved up the list, placing her 2nd all-time with 501 career assists, as well as 12th all-time in career steals with 208. Brooke Peterson has moved into 9th place on the all-time rebounding list with a career total of 616, while Courtney Hehn has taken over the 6th slot in career scoring with 1,597 points. Finally, Poppy Miller has become the 7th greatest rebounder in school history, totaling 647 boards in her career, has become 8th on the list in career blocks, swatting away 90, and has also placed herself 7th all-time in free-throw percentage, finishing her career with 76.8%.
Don Haynes
Amanda Jensen
