SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University women's basketball team defeated visiting Marygrove College 74-40 in its home opener on Monday night.
Spring Arbor held a three point lead after the first quarter of action but would outscore Marygrove (3-1) 59-28 over the final three periods to pick up their second straight win to open the campaign.
Freshman Rachel Nelson paced the Cougars with 12 points off the bench while also hauling in eight rebounds. Junior Kylie Townsley chipped in 11 points and sophomore Faith Johnson added eight.
"After a rough first half, I thought we had a lot energy in the second half," said head coach Ryan Frost after the game. "We were able to limit them to one shot and got out in transition."
The Cougars held the Mustangs to just 22 percent (4-for-29) shooting in the second half, while connecting on 18-of-42 shots themselves over that span. Spring Arbor also forced Marygrove into 19 turnovers, and the Cougars converted those giveaways into 20 points.
Spring Arbor got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 10-2 lead early in the contest. However, Marygrove settled in and ended the first quarter on a 10-5 run, and would trail 15-12 at the break.
The score would stay close through the early stages of the second quarter, and following a bucket from MC's Taylor Kelley, the Mustangs trimmed the deficit to three, 21-18, at the 5:56 mark. Junior Aimee Konkel would answer though with a three-pointer on the other end to kick start a 10-2 scoring spurt. Senior Jessica Mabry added four points during the run to give the Cougars a 31-20 edge heading into halftime.
In the third quarter, Nelson would score nine of her team-high 12 points to help Spring Arbor put the game out of reach.
Spring Arbor finished the night with 66 rebounds, including 28 on the offensive end, compared to Marygrove's 39. The Cougars outscored the Mustangs 36-14 in the paint and 20-12 on second chance points.
Freshman Ryan Laier ripped down a game-high 12 rebounds while Nelson and junior Rachel Driesenga had eight apiece.
Up next, the Cougars will travel to Siena Heights University (0-0) on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The game is slated to tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
Women's Basketball Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
SAU Athletics: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Women's Basketball: Facebook | Instagram
