ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Rockford University women's basketball team played its first of three straight road games to open the 2016-17 season on Tuesday evening with a very tough test against the Augustana College Vikings. Rockford played well for much of the game as the Regents were able to stay within striking distance until the Vikings outscored Rockford 31-10 in the third quarter en route to a 102-61 win.
The Regents trailed by just eight at the end of the first quarter despite getting off to a very slow start. Rockford found themselves in early hole as the Vikings scored 18 of the game's first 25 points to take an early 18-7 lead. However, the Regents began to catch fire going on an 8-0 run over the next two plus minutes to pull back to within three at 18-15. Tajanae Key (Glendale Heights, Ill.) and Mallorie Getzelman (Byron, Ill.) led the charge with three points each while freshman Taylor May (East Moline, Ill.) chipped in the final two points. It remained a three-point game until the closing minute of the quarter when Augustana scored the final 5 points to take a 25-17 lead.
Rockford opened the second quarter strong as Getzelman and Key combined to score the first five points as the Regents once again pulled back to within three. Unfortunately Rockford was never quite able to get over the hump as the Vikings quickly responded with an 8-2 run to push their lead back to nine points. The Augustana lead would hover around nine until the closing moments of the first half when the Vikings used a 6-2 run to take a 46-33 lead into the intermission.
Augustana began to take control of the game early in the second half as the Regents again got off to a rocky start. The Vikings opened the half on a 12-2 run to extend their lead to, at the time, a game-high 25 points. Augustana continued to put pressure on the Regents for the remainder of the game outscoring Rockford 31-10 in the third quarter and 56-28 in the second half. Rockford shot just 7-of-26 from the floor in the second half compared to 21-of-40 shooting for the Vikings as they coasted to a 102-61 win.
Rockford's Mallorie Getzelman began her senior season with perhaps the best game of her career. Getzlman poured in a career-high 30 points on an impressive 10-for-19 shooting. She was lights out from beyond the arc and at the charity stripe connecting on 3-of-4 three-point attempts and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. The senior rounded out her day with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 assist.
Taylor May and Tajanae Key also played well for Rockford. May finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, while Key added 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.
The RU women's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, November 19 at Eureka College. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM.
