LANGHORNE, Pa.- After winning big in their first victory of the season earlier in the week, the Macs rode that momentum to a big first quarter and never looked back in a 70-57 road victory over Cairn to even up their record at 2-2.
Senior Amber Balligner continues her outstanding season with 23 points on a career-best 15-for-16 from the free throw line while also pulling down six boards and three steals. Sophomore
Natalie Ayoub nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine boards, and junior
Annie Kohutka added 13.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Mighty Macs dominated the opening period, outscoring the Highlanders 21-5 while holding them to just two made field goals and shooting 50% themselves
-Ayoub scored six of the first eight as the Mcs held an 8-0 lead more than midway through the period, and after Cairn got on the board with 4:24 to go, the Macs ripped off 10 more to build a commanding lead. The Macs got contributions from Ballinger, Ayoub, and sophomore
Theresa Kearney and
Brielle Rigo to fuel the run
-A made triple by freshman
Meghan Ricker as time expired in the first quarter gave the Macs a 16-point lead going to the second
-The Highlanders had their best quarter in the second as they went on a 23-7 run over the first eight minutes to cut the deficit to eight, but a Ballinger three and free throws down the stretch put the lead back at 11 at 33-22 at halftime
-Cairn continued to battle to start the quarter, getting the IU lead down to five at 35-30 in the opening three minutes, but a 14-2 run in just over four minutes put the game out of reach at 49-32. Ballinger had seven in the run and capped it with a three pointer
-Much like the rest of the game, Cairn came back and made it a three point contest, but the Macs did their heavy lifting at the free throw line and were relentless and salted the game away
TEAM COMPARISON
-The Macs were 22-of-55 (40%) from the floor for the game and 4-of-16 (25%) from three point range, but they did a lot of heavy lifting at the free throw line where they were 22-for-26 (84.6%)
-The Macs held Cairn to 22-of-58 (37.9%) from the field, 2-for-6 (33.3%) from deep, and 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the line
-The Macs forced 23 turnovers and only gave it up 12 times themselves
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
-Points: Ballinger 23, Ayoub 14, Kohutka 13, Kearney 9
-Assists: Kelly 5, Gallagher 3
-Rebounds: Ayoub 9, Kearney 7, Ballinger 6
-Steals: Ballinger 3, Ricker 3, Ayoub 2
UP NEXT
The Mighty Macs will enjoy some much needed rest before hosting Penn State-Harrisburg on Monday, November 26
th.
