PUC Chronicle

Issue date: 2/19/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jeremy Homan Sarah Keilman (32) looks to pass inside to Jessica Hamman (50) during Saturdays loss against Olivet Nazarene University in the REC Center.

The Lady Peregrines hosted the Olivet Nazarene University Lady Tigers to end the week. The Lady Tigers, who lead the nation in team scoring averaging 100 points per game, couldn't be held below that standard Saturday afternoon.
With new women's basketball recruits and Chancellor Howard Cohen in the stands, PUC (6-21, 1-9) put up a tough fight against the Lady Tigers, but ONU (16-12, 9-1) managed to grasp a 103-74 win.
"We simply had too many turnovers," said Head Coach Dennis Smith.
With a total of 33 turnovers compared to the Lady Tigers 13, PUC had a hard time getting past the strong defensive squad and after getting double and triple teamed under the basket the Lady Peregrines struggled with bad passes as well.
After taking an offensive charge, the Lady Peregrines were able to gain more momentum and both junior guard/forward Krystal Rigoni and sophomore forward LaKeisha Hurst were able to break away for lay-ups.
Rigoni put up 11 points, while Hurst finished with 14 and led the team in rebounds with 11. Both junior guard/forward Linsey Smith and senior center Jessica Hamman added double digits to the PUC scoring with 18 and 14, respectively.
Regardless of the Lady Tiger's tough offense and defense, PUC kept the score close during the first half and trailed by only 13 at the break.
The Lady Tigers looked to take 3-pointers and proved their ability to shoot from the perimeter throughout the game. Stepping up in the second half, ONU managed to round out 42 points in 3-pointers connecting 14 of 41 attempts. In response the Lady Peregrines managed to sink only one 3-pointer in seven attempts.
It was a fast paced game throughout the entire second half with back and forth action from both teams. With five minutes remaining the Lady Peregrines trailed by 36 but managed to hold the Lady Tigers to 100 points until the last 12 seconds when they downed a three.
The final buzzer ended the 103-74 loss for the Lady Peregrines which keeps them positioned at sixth of seven teams in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
"The girls played hard but made too many mistakes against a good team," said Coach Smith. "We gave up too many baskets in the second half."
PUC will compete against Illinois Institute of Technology on the road Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off, and the Lady Peregrines will wrap up the CCAC regular season Saturday afternoon when they host St. Francis University at 1 p.m.

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