RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Rockford University women's basketball team picked up its first win of the season and evened its NACC record to 1-1 with a 78-59 victory at Dominican University. The Regents played by far their best game of the season on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. The ladies shot 44.9% from the floor while holding Dominican to just 25.9% shooting. One of the biggest keys to Rockford's success was its ability to force 20 Dominican turnovers and convert them into 27 points compared to the Stars scoring just 11 points off of Rockford turnovers. The Regents also dominated the interior outscoring the Stars 48-12 in the paint.
Despite the lopsided final score, the game was close for much of the first half as there were 5 ties and 4 lead changes. Neither team was really able to gain much of lead until about midway through the first half when Rockford scored six straight points to take a 24-17 advantage. Senior Katie Clark (Rock City, Ill.) led the Rockford run scoring four of the six points. The Regents eventually would push their lead to double-digits with a second 6-0 run in the final minute of the first half. Talayah Gordon Scott (Rockford, Ill.) jump-started the run with four straight points and Casey Pettit (Rockford, Ill.) capped it off with a bucket at the buzzer giving Rockford a 44-32 halftime lead.
Rockford controlled the entire second half as the Stars were never really able to cut into the Rockford lead. The Regents closest scare came at the 10:36 mark when their lead was trimmed to 9 following a 7-0 Dominican run. However, the Regents answered right back with a 9-2 run of their own led by 5 points from Taylor Davis (Mundelein, Ill.). From that point on, Rockford controlled the remainder of the game and cruised to a 78-59 victory.
Junior forward Diamond Williams (Carpentersville, Ill.) was once again the leading scorer for the Regents. Williams scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 2 steals and 1 assist. She has now scored at least 15 points in four consecutive games.
Katie Clark, Casey Pettit and Callie Rezin (Rockford, Ill.) all also scored in double figures on Wednesday. Clark poured in a season-high 14 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 2 shots off the bench. Pettit also set a season-high with 14 points while getting 5 steals and 5 rebounds. Rezin added 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
The women's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, December 6 at Marian University. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
