MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Rockford University women's basketball team picked up an impressive 65-55 road win over the MSOE Raiders on Saturday afternoon. Rockford did not lead until midway through the second quarter, but once the Regents jumped out in front, they never looked back. The ladies would build their lead to a game-high 19 points with less than 3 minutes left in the third quarter before ultimately rolling to a double-digit victory. One of the keys to Rockford's victory was its outstanding shooting performance against a very sound MSOE defense. The Regents shot 49.0% from the floor and 60.0% from beyond the arc, while holding the Raiders to just 31.7% shooting, including 21.4% from long range.
Following a slow start the Regents began to assert themselves midway through the second quarter. After the Raiders built their lead to a game-high six points, the Regents responded with a 13-0 run to take their first lead of the game. The duo of Taylor May (East Moline, Ill.) and Mallorie Getzelman (Byron, Ill.) scored all 13 of the points to put their team out in front for the first time. Rockford's lead hovered around seven points for the remainder of the half until junior Nicole Silvers (Byron, Ill.) drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Regents a 37-27 lead entering halftime.
Rockford would build upon its lead during the third quarter before MSOE made one final push in the fourth. The Regents opened the second half as they closed the first, with a 5-0 run, to extend their lead to at the time a game-high 15 points. The two schools then traded baskets over the four minutes until the Regents used another 5-0 run to take a 54-35 advantage, their largest of the game. However, the game was far from over as the Raiders caught fire in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. With Rockford leading by 17 points and less than 9 minutes remaining in the game, MSOE made things interesting with a 13-0 run to make it a 59-55 game with 1:58 remaining. Fortunately Rockford responded with a 6-0 run to close the game and seal the 65-55 win.
In addition to the Regents' win, Saturday's game will be one to remember as senior Mallorie Getzelman became just the eleventh RU women's basketball player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Getzelman crossed the 1,000-point threshold late in the third quarter when she drained a three-pointer to give her 21 points for the game and 1,001 for her career. She finished the day with a game-high 23 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. With just six games remaining, Getzelman continues to lead the NACC in scoring averaging 20.4 points per game. The senior is looking to become just the second RU women's basketball player to finish the season as the NACC's leading scorer with the other coming in the 2011-12 season (Britney Curry).
Freshman Taylor May and junior transfer Nicole Silvers also played very well in Rockford's victory. May finished with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steals. Silvers added 17 points, including connecting on 3-of-4 three-pointers, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist.
The RU women's basketball team returns to the court on Wednesday, February 1 at Benedictine University. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM at the Rice Center.
