Complete Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas – It took Stacy Francis and the Lady Ram basketball team just one game to equal the win total from last season, and they did it in impressive style. Behind a very strong inside game, the Lady Rams demolished the Lady Eagles of Southwestern Christian University, 80-34.

The tone of the game was set early in the first half, as the Lady Rams scored 13 points before SW Christian even attempted a field goal. After two timeouts in the first 6 minutes of the game, the Lady Eagles finally got a little offense going, but is was already too late. Wesleyan held a 19-point lead after 10 minutes, and added 11 more to the lead by halftime on 58% shooting. Ashley Walker was a perfect 6 for 6 from the floor, Shawndrika Courtney also scored 12 points and Kori Yates added 8 more as Wesleyan took a 44-14 lead at the break.

Southwestern Christian opened the second half with a quick bucket, but consecutive turnovers on their next two trips down the court shifted the momentum back to the Lady Rams. They continued to pound the ball inside to Walker and Courtney, and the smaller Lady Eagles had no answer for their presence in the paint.

Once the outcome had been decided, every player on the Wesleyan bench saw action in the game.

“We played well tonight,” head coach Stacy Francis said after the game. “It’s exciting to see that with so many new players, we could come together as quickly as we have, and perform like we did tonight.”

The Lady Rams were paced offensively by Courtney’s 17 points and 12 rebounds. Walker added 14 points and 10 boards, and Kori Yates scored 11. As a team, Wesleyan made 44% of their shots, but were only 1 of 8 from behind the three-point line. They made 17 of 26 free throws for a percentage of .654.

For SW Christian, Cheree Berry led with 11 points and 4 rebounds, followed by Alicia Hutson with 9 and 3. The Lady Eagles shot 19% from the floor, 10% from behind the three-point arc, and 66% from the free throw line.

The women travel to Oklahoma City next Monday to face Hillsdale College, then return home to face Hillsdale on November 21. Both games begin at 6:00 PM.