WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Cameron bounced back from their first Lone Star Conference loss by dominating rival Midwestern State, 81-46, behind a program record 26 steals, 11 by
Katie King.
Thursday night, despite a 19-point comeback, the Aggie women suffered their first league loss 65-61 at Texas Woman's. Saturday, they made the trip to Wichita Falls, Texas and recorded their fourth straight win against their rival MSU by dominating the defensive side of the ball, forcing 33 turnovers and holding the Mustangs to under 30 percent from the field.
Like their previous meeting against MSU this season, the Aggies had their defensive pressure working, forcing their opponent into 33 turnovers while besting their previous team steal record of 22 by four. Those turnovers resulted in 27 points for the Black and Gold.
King was a big part of the defensive effort, earning 11 steals, also a program record and the second most by a player in Division II this season. The second-year player also had 14 points and five rebounds in the win.
Maighan Hedge was her usual self on the offensive end, scoring 28 points on 8-20 shooting from the field. Four of her made field goals came from long range where she was 4-6 and eight of her points came on foul shots in the opening 10 minutes. Hedge, who leads the LSC in scoring, now has eight games this season with 25 or more points and added three steals and five assists on Saturday.
Stephanie Peterson and
Whitney Outon contributed in all facets of the win for the Aggies. Peterson scored 15 points and had seven rebounds, five assists, one block, and four steals. Outon added 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block and three steals.
The Aggies and Mustangs looked like rivals early in the first quarter until Hedge started getting to the foul line and pushing the tempo. Hedge had 11 after 10 minutes of action, making eight of 10 from the foul line in the frame. The Aggies also forced seven turnovers in the opening quarter, helping lead to their 23-10 advantage.
Cameron got it done from long range in the second quarter, making five of eight from the perimeter. MSU kept the frame close, but CU still won the period 21-17 to lead 44-27 at the halftime break.
Hedge had 17 points in the opening 20 minutes, with all of her made shots coming from three (3-3) and the foul line (8-10). They turned MSU over 16 times, resulting in 15 points and knocked down 7-12 from three and 9-12 from the charity stripe. Outon added nine points, four rebounds and four assists in the first half, while King already had six of her steals.
In the second half, the Aggies continued to dominate both sides of the ball, shooting 44 percent from the field while totaling 15 of their steals and forcing 17 turnovers. They also held MSU to just 21 percent shooting including an 0-8 mark from three. CU won the third quarter 24-9 and led by at most 36 points as they cruised to the 81-46 win.
Cameron shot 41 percent from the floor in the game, going 10-23 from three and 11-17 from the charity stripe. MSU finished the game shooting 28 percent from the floor, going 2-16 from three and 12-20 from the foul line.
With a 6-1 conference record, 11-6 overall, the Aggies are at the top of the league standings as one of only two teams with only one LSC loss. CU will look to repeat their performance on Monday, Jan. 31, when they visit St. Mary's for a formally postponed conference meeting.