ThunderWolves squeak past Cameron Aggies

PUEBLO, Colo. -- For a while, it looked like no one would make a basket, much less make a game of it.  Both the ThunderWolves and Aggies came out cold, clanging shot after shot off the rim in a game marred by 54 turnovers and hard-to-believe shooting percentages.  It was the Aggies who proved to be the most ineffective on offense, going 0-for-12 from the floor before making a shot 12 minutes and 57 seconds into the game.  CSU-Pueblo eventually got the best of the Aggies by a score of 56-48, but it was a fortuitous result at best.

Cameron shot just a shade over 12 percent in the first half, and CSU-Pueblo didn’t fare much better, shooting 25 percent in the first half and 35 percent overall.  The ThunderWolves jumped out to an early lead thanks to a couple of short jumpers from Amanda Bartlett (So., Kiowa, Colo.), but the women struggled to stay ahead of the Aggies for most of the game.

Pueblo Central product Rachel Espinoza (So., Pueblo, Colo.) shook off a poor first half and led the way for the ThunderWolves with 14 points and seven rebounds.  She was especially clutch down the stretch.

Mary Rehfeld (Sr., Juneau, Alaska) bounced a 3-pointer home at 5:21, and Espinoza followed that with a jumper in the lane.  A minute later, she put the ThunderWolves up by 11 with another bucket, and the hit a layup in traffic with 1:15 left to give her team some breathing room in the final minute.

The ThunderWolves used a zone defense for the majority of the contest, and did well to harass the Aggies into such a poor offensive performance.  The first half was especially forgettable for both teams, and neither team had a player reach double figures until 6:29 in the second period.

A 10-0 run just before halftime gave the ThunderWolves a decent advantage at the break, but the women opened the game by shooting a meager 6-for-24, and were forced to pick up their offensive production significantly in the second half.