RIO GRANDE, Ohio - In a game of massive momentum swings, the high-octane offense on ninth-ranked Rio Grande caught fire late to thwart a Midway upset bid.
The Red Storm broke a fourth-quarter tie with a 29-7 run following a costly technical foul call, defeating Midway 97-75 in a River States Conference women's basketball matchup on Tuesday.
Midway looked like it was going to get blown out early. Rio Grande, which entered the night second in the nation in scoring at 91 points per-game, held a 42-22 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter.
But over the ensuing 15 minutes, 28 seconds, it was all Eagles. In that time, Midway outscored the Red Storm 44-17, with its swarming defense producing 11 of the 25 turnovers it would force on the night.
The last of those turnovers led to a pair of
Jermyra Christian free throws to give the Eagles a 66-59 lead with 1:20 to play in the third quarter.
Christian finished the night with 24 points, one less than her career high scored
in the first meeting with the Red Storm in December, while also proving to be a menace on the defensive end, recording a game-high six steals.
Rio scored four points in 31 seconds to get within 66-63 at quarter's end. The Red Storm then scored four quick points to re-take the lead before a
Kassidy Daugherty jump shot tied it at 68.
It would stay even for over a minute before a technical foul put Kaylee Darnell, the NAIA's third-leading scorer at the foul line.
Darnell proceeded to make the free throws, then turned the tide for good with 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. She finished the night with 29 points.
Rio proceeded to shoot 81.8 percent in the fourth quarter to Midway's 25, out-scoring the Eagles 34-9 in the last 10 minutes.
It was the second such game the two teams played this season. A Darnell 3-pointer broke a tie with 4:26 to play and Rio pulled away for an 86-74 win at Marshall Gymnasium on Dec. 11.
A'Lyrica Hughes added 16 points, with Daugherty scoring nine.
Trinity Johnson pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for Midway, which saw its three-game win streak come to an end.
The Eagles, who are 13-10 and 7-4 in conferene play, are back home for another conference matchup Saturday, hosting Indiana Kokomo at 3 p.m.
