Sharp second half fuels Lady Aggie win
LAWTON, Okla. (Oct. 29) - Aided by a 31-point effort at the free-throw line and a 50-point outburst in the second half, the Cameron women's basketball team posted a 79-69 win over Redlands Community College Friday in exhibition action at Aggie Gym.
The Lady Aggies missed three charity tosses down the stretch, but still finished 31-of-36 from the line. Cameron also out-rebounded the Cougars 46-39 and posted a higher shooting percentage in the game.
Junior Brittany Cooksey led the Aggie offensive effort with 20 points, including 13 in the first half. The Bristow native connected on 7-of-11 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. The frontcourt tandem of Christina Buben and Melissa Steen contributed 16 points each, with Steen hauling in a game-high 11 rebounds.
Steen and Buben combined for nearly half of the Lady Aggies' second half scoring as Cameron responded to a physical defensive effort by Redlands by getting aggressive in the paint. When the Lady Aggies weren't scoring down low, they were getting to the line, cashing in 23 free-throw opportunities in the second half alone. Redlands, meanwhile, hit just 14 of 22 charity attempts in the entire contest.
Redlands, which lost an 83-82 decision to Langston in exhibition action earlier this week, built an early lead by forcing 15 first-half Cameron turnovers and held off a late surge to take a 33-29 halftime lead. But the Lady Aggies, playing their first competition against an outside opponent, settled down in the second half to gain control. Cameron shot a solid 41.9 percent in the second frame and cut its turnovers in half, committing just seven miscues after halftime.
Coach Dick Halterman's squad will take the court once more in exhibition play before beginning the regular season. The Lady Aggies will travel up Interstate 44 to take on NCAA Division I Tulsa in an exhibition game on Wednesday, Nov. 4, then head to Warrensburg, Mo., to open the 2004-05 campaign on the road at Central Missouri State on Nov. 15.
