Spartan Women Snap Three Game Streak with Win Over Crusaders

AURORA, Ill. January 19, 2008 - The Aurora University women’s basketball team defeated the visiting Crusaders of Maranatha Baptist Bible College 62-44 on Saturday afternoon inside Thornton Gymnasium.

The first half was a closely contested battle, with Aurora holding a slim advantage for most of the period. The Spartans jumped out to an early nine point lead, but lost that behind the strong play of Maranatha; the Spartans saw their lead disappear as the Crusaders would eventually tie the score with four minutes remaining, but Aurora closed out the half on a 6-0 run and took a 28-22 lead into halftime.

The Spartans were led by the stellar play of freshman center Michelle Perry, who had eight points and six rebounds at the break. Maranatha was paced by freshman guard Laura Mattson, who had nine points on three-of-five shooting, all of which were from beyond the three-point arc.

The second half witnessed an early scoring outburst as the Spartans built a 17 point lead that Maranatha would eventually cut to six (47-41) with just over six minutes to play. The Crusaders used an 11-0 run over four minutes to shrink the Spartan lead.

Aurora responded by closing out the game on a 15-3 run and sealing the 18 point win.

Perry continued her stellar play well into the second half, and finished the game with a double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds). Senior guard Lexi Pioli came off the bench to score 12 points going three-of-four from three-point range.

Maranatha was led by senior center Colleen Goff, who paced all scorers with 18 points and added 15 rebounds in order to round-out her spectacular afternoon.

With the win, Aurora’s record moves to 8-8 overall and 6-3 in the Northern Athletics Conference. On the other end, Maranatha falls to 6-7 overall and 2-7 in the NAC.

The Spartans return to action on Thursday, January 24, when they host NAC foe Wisconsin Lutheran. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Thornton Gymnasium.