ROCKFORD, Ill.- Saturday afternoon was the first home game of the season for the Rockford University women's basketball team. It was also the first conference game of the season for the Regents. Coming to town to face the Regents was the MSOE Raiders. The Raiders brought with them a 1-0 record, while the Regents were looking for their first win of the season.
Rockford struggled on the offensive side of the ball in the first half, but its defense prevented the Raiders from pulling away completely. The Regents shot 29.6% from the field, 25% from the three-point line, and made 5-of-10 of their free throws for the half. Leading the way for Rockford, off of the bench, was Katie Clark (Rock City, Ill.), who made three of her five shots for six points in the first half.
Close behind Clark in scoring was Callie Rezin (Rockford, Ill.), who finished with five points on 2-of-3 shooting, and Diamond Williams (Carpentersville, Ill.) who finished with four points. Williams also recovered three rebounds. Freshman Katie Hart (Davis Junction, Ill.) had the lone three-pointer for Rockford. The Regents forced seven turnovers in the first half, with Rezin and Casey Pettit (Rockford, Ill.) each recording two steals. Despite this, the Regents found themselves down 36-22 at the end of the first half.
Rockford was able to cut the Raiders lead down to eight points five minutes into the second half. Williams made two layups and hit two free throws during that time to help cut down the lead. That was the closest the Regents would get for the remainder of the game. Rockford starting hitting shots in the second half, but they could not slow down the Raiders offense enough to stage a comeback. Rockford finished shooting 37.7% from the field.
Williams had a game high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. She also had six rebounds, a block, and a steal. Hart finished with eight points of the bench. She made all three of her shots and added in an assist. Rezin had an all-around good game with seven points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
The Regents next game is on December 3 when they travel to Dominican for a 7:00 p.m. game. Their next home game is not until December 13 when Wisconsin Lutheran comes to town for a 2:00 p.m. game.
