Turnovers.This was the case early and often the for the Gambling State University Women’s Basketball team in a 59-81 loss to Chicago State before 190 fans at GSU’s Assembly Center on Tuesday.
Of the 81 points the Lady Cougars (3-2) scored 32 of them were a result of a GSU turnover. As well as the fast break points, a category in which Chicago State dominated 16-2.
“You’re not going to beat good teams with that many turnovers,” Head Coach Rusty Ponton said. “We’re a young team and we had a lot of immature mistakes.”
The women had a total of 30, 17 of which came in the first half.
Sophomore forward Gabrielle Fleming had team-highs with 19 points and six rebounds, while freshman small forward Whitney Brown added eight points and five boards for the Lady Tigers (1-5) who dropped their fifth consecutive game.
Another major factor was the three-point line. The Lady Cougars went 10-for-20 from three-point range while the Lady Tigers shot 4-for-14, a difference of 18 points.
Sophomore shooting guard Alyssa Waldon led all scores with 25 points and was a force from long range going 5-for-9 and at one point hitting three consecutive for Chicago State. The Cougars made a free-throw after a technical foul was called before the game and had a 1-0 lead even before the opening tip-off.
“We got off to a slow start,” Fleming said. “We weren’t prepared mentally. And that’s our main focus before every game. We have a breakdown of the other team, run in practice and all that but it comes down to how focused we are.”
The team is young, 11 underclassmen, but the potential the women have could make for a bright future and a chance exact revenge after being defeated in the semifinal round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament last year.
“We have so many weapons,” Fleming said. “We have yet to show everybody what we have when we are focused we are dangerous as a unit.”
Junior point guard Jasmine Dixon scored 10 of Chicago State ‘s 16 fast break points with five lay-ups. She finished with 21 points six assists and four steals.
“We felt good,” Dixon said. “We knew they were coming to play because the last time we played they said they wanted revenge.”
Revenge the Lady Tigers will have to exact when they host Central Arkansas at the Assembly Center Saturday Dec. 1. at 6 p.m.