January 23, 2008

Aggies can’t tame ECU Tigers

LAWTON, Oklahoma (January 23) – Tonight in Aggie Gym the Cameron Aggie women’s basketball team (3-14, 0-2 LSC-N) nearly pulled off a victory against the Tigers of East Central University (10-7, 1-2 LSC-N). The game was close throughout, but in the end CU did not have enough for the win. The final score was 67-61, in favor of ECU. Tonight’s loss was Cameron’s second in a row.

“I thought that obviously the game was lost in the first half,” Head Coach Kevin Hackerott said. “We were extremely sluggish. Our feet were slow, almost like they were moving in quicksand. That let ECU get their confidence.”

East Central started the game with the lead, and held onto it for nearly the entire game. The Aggies held the lead for about two minutes early in the first half, but that was it. The score at halftime had CU down 31-22. Cameron was down by as many as 14 points in the game, but was within 2 points with a minute left in the second half. Cameron was eventually forced to foul, and ECU hit 6 straight free throws to seal the victory.

Cameron rebounded from their poor first half to shoot 35.1% from the floor in the game. East Central shot 47.8%, in the game including 52.2% in the first half. The teams both finished the game with 12 turnovers, and CU out-rebounded ECU 32-29. Additionally, Cameron took 11 more shots from the field than East Central.

“We had a hard time containing them and that put too much pressure on our offense,” Coach Hackerott said. “We won on the stat page: we out-rebounded ECU, we made more three-pointers, and we took 11 more shots. The free throw differential was pretty large, and we just couldn’t overcome it.”

In the game Cameron went 13-18 from the foul line, while East Central went 21-29.

Senior guard Tiffany Williams led the Aggies offensively against ECU with a team-high 20 points on 6-12 shooting. She also recorded 8 rebounds, an assist, and a team-high 2 steals. Williams played 38 minutes in tonight’s contest.

Merrisa Martinuzzi, another senior guard, had a phenomenal game for Cameron as she finished with 19 points on 7-11 shooting, including 5-8 from beyond the three-point arc. Martinuzzi also recorded 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in her 32 minutes of play.

“Merrisa played just great. She shot the ball well, and was probably the one kid who energy-wise was really moving well,” Coach Hackerott said. “She has played well all year for us, and it’s good to see her finishing her senior year the right way.”

Sophomore forward Megan Atkins also had a strong showing, chipping in a team-high 9 rebounds in only 16 minutes of play. She also finished with 2 points on 1-7 shooting.

“We just need to put both halves together,” Coach Hackerott said. “Hopefully we can get some wins and send the seniors out the right way.”

The Aggies travel to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, this weekend to take on the Northeastern State University River Hawks. The Cameron women’s team tips off on Saturday, January 26, at 2:00pm.