The Rams traveled to Puerto Rico for a match up against the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, where they lost a heart-breaker 65-62.
In what was a close contest throughout, the Rams fought hard, but just could not get the stop they needed to win the game.
Maria Medina of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez put the team on her shoulders by making a clutch three-pointer to put her team up 48-46 in the fourth quarter. They would never surrender the lead from here on out, no matter how close the Rams got.
Junior guard Kayla Tibbs of the Rams put some doubt in the minds of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez when she made a desperate three-pointer with two seconds to play that made the score 64-62. However, Medina made a free throw that all but sealed the game for Puerto-Rico Mayaguez to preserve the 65-62 victory.
The Rams shot the ball exceptionally well, going 50 percent from the field, including 6-of-15 from downtown, where they usually do not particularly excel. Making 6-of-7 free throws was also a bright spot, but they could not get to the free throw line often enough to make that much of a difference in the game’s outcome.
For as much as the Rams succeeded offensively, defensively they struggled, allowing Puerto Rico-Mayaguez to shoot 51.9 percent from the floor. Puerto Rico-Mayaguez did not have nearly the same level of efficiency from three-point range, shooting 20 percent there. Going 6-of-12 from the foul line prevented Puerto-Rico Mayaguez from sealing the game sooner than they did.
Puerto Rico-Mayaguez had no answer for defending senior forward Liz Myers of the Rams, who had 21 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Cara Mason filled up the stat sheet with eight points and four assists. Freshman guard Lauren Reed provided a nice spark with 14 huge points.
Maria Medina and H. Argueta were thorns in the sides of the Rams, as they seemed unable to contain them. Medina and Argueta scored 22 and 18 points respectively to pave the way for the win for Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.
In a game where the margins were small, the Rams won the rebounding department with a 28-26 advantage. Turnovers were also another big factor. The Rams forced 16 turnovers, but gave the ball away 19 times. With a game that was as close as this one, even one of those possessions could have proved to be the difference in the contest. It is hard enough to win on the road, but having this many turnovers ultimately led to the Rams’ downfall.
The Rams will try to improve to 4-7 on the season in Puerto Rico when they play the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon Friday at 5 p.m.
Anthony Bracken is the Sports Editor of The Picket. He can be reached at abrack02@rams.shepherd.edu