Women's Basketball had a prolific season opener Thursday night at home.
The Ravens beat the Kansas Christian College Falcons 101-46.
The Ravens got off to a fast start in the first quarter, scoring the game's first 8 points. They used full-court pressure to turn the Falcons over 10 times, which directly led to 8 points. After one quarter, the Ravens held a 23-11 lead. Ali Brzozowski had the hot touch early, accounting for 12 of the Ravens 23 points in the opening 10 minutes of action.
The second quarter was more of the same for the Ravens as they extended their lead to 43-24 by halftime. The Ravens forced nine more Falcons turnovers in the second quarter and continued to pound the ball inside. The Ravens shot 57.1% from 2-point range in the first half and grabbed 10 more rebounds than the Falcons.
The inside play also got the Falcons in foul trouble as two players notched three first-half fouls and two others had two fouls at the break. This helped the Ravens get to the free throw line 13 times in the first half, converting 11 of those attempts. The Falcons, on the other hand, had just four free throws in the first half.
The only area the Ravens didn't excel in during the first half was outside shooting – they were 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
Heather Ronnebaum sunk the Ravens first 3-pointer of the game, and the season, in the third quarter. She followed that up with a steal at half court, then drove in for a layup to score a quick 5 points. The Ravens dominated the Falcons in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 30-13 in the frame. By the end of the quarter, 12 different Ravens had scored in the game.
The Ravens closed out the game with a 28-9 fourth quarter, putting them over the century mark in the game. The 101 points are more than the Ravens scored in any game in the 2019-20 season, and the 46 points are fewer than any opponent scored last season, as well. It was the first time the Ravens broke the 100-point mark since a Jan. 25, 2017 double-overtime win against Central Methodist University.
Despite scoring triple-digits, only three players had double-figure scoring: Brzozowski led all scorers with 16 points, Skylar Washington had 15 and Natalie Smaron scored 14. Twilah Carrasquillo, Kynli Nelson, and Jane Pennefather each scored 8 points and all 13 players who saw the court scored a basket.
The Ravens out-rebounded the Falcons 46-29, pulling down 19 offensive rebounds. Washington had a team-high nine rebounds.
They forced 38 turnovers out of KCC, using them to score 39 points. Sam Brennan had a major impact on the defensive end, recording five steals.
The Ravens (1-0) quickly return to action, hosting Sterling College at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. It will be Sterling's first game of the season.
#UnleashGreatness
