Rio does rewrite of record book in rout of SMWC

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - For all of the problems that the University of Rio Grande women's basketball team already presents to its opponents, the RedStorm has recently gone about adding a potentially devastating option to its arsenal - the three-point shot.
     Head coach David Smalley's squad drilled a single-game season-high - and possibly all-time single-game best - 17 trifectas in a 127-48 pasting of St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College, Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference play at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     The RedStorm, ranked No. 8 nationally, improved to 20-1 overall and 9-0 in the RSC with an 11th straight victory.
     The Pomeroys dropped to 0-21 overall and 0-10 against conference foes with the loss.
     Rio's 17 three-point goals are believed to be a new school record, surpassing the previous mark of 15, which was established a number of times, most recently in a 90-89 win over Asbury (Ky.) University on Feb. 26, 2020.
     The RedStorm have hit 11 or more three-pointers in each of their last three outings, which is also believed to be the first time the program has reached double figures in three-pointers made for a stretch of three or more games.
     Rio Grande scored the game's first 20 points en route to a 44-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The 44 points represented a new single-quarter school record, surpassing the 43 points scored in the opening quarter of a 138-87 win over Alice Lloyd College on Jan. 12, 2025.
     The RedStorm stretched their lead to 73-20 by halftime, narrowly missing the school record for points in a half of 76, which was set against Ohio University East on Nov. 29, 1997.
     The advantage grew to 60 points, 96-36, by the close of the third quarter and the 79-point margin of victory fell one point shy of the school record, which was set in a 114-34 rout of Ohio University Lancaster on Nov. 3, 2018.
     Rio Grande shot a sizzling 61.8 percent overall (47-for-76), including 17-for-32 from beyond the three-point arc (53.1%).
     The RedStorm also scored a single-game school record 53 points off of 28 turnovers by the Pomeroys.
     Freshman Kate Ball (Kenova, WV) led six double-digit scorers for Rio with a career-high 21 points, 15 of which came on five three-pointers. She also tied for the team-high with four steals.
     Fellow frosh Allie Ellyson (Glenville, WV) added 20 points and four steals in the winning effort, while junior Sophia Kline (Sugar Grove, OH) had 18 points and two blocked shots and sophomore Josie Graves (Barboursville, WV) finished with 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
     Senior Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) had 15 points for the RedStorm, while senior Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) tallied 12 points, 14 assists and four steals.
     Garcia Perez broke the single-season school assist record in the process, surpassing the previous mark of 208 set by Azyiah Williams in 2022-23. Her 210 assists and 10.0 apg average lead the country.
     SMWC was led by Talyssa Moody's 17 points. Samara Douglas added 10 points, while Elayni Stone and Aubrey Ervin had four rebounds each.
     In addition to the 28 turnovers, the Pomeroys shot just 32 percent overall (17-for-53), 56 percent from the foul line (9-for-16) and was outrebounded 41-28.
     Rio Grande is slated to return to action on Tuesday night at rival Shawnee State University.