Albion College Sports Information Student Assistant
ALMA, Mich. - Led by the red-hot shooting of junior guard Sarah Caskey, Albion College stormed out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back in defeating Alma College 65-53 in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association contest Saturday, Jan. 31.
The Britons jumped out to a 16-2 lead nine minutes into the game behind 14 Caskey points. Caskey's first 12 points came on four three-point baskets. Albion's leading scorer put down 22 in the first half and finished with a career-high 34 points. Caskey shot 13 of 21 from the field and 7 of 13 from behind the arc. She also added five assists and four rebounds.
Caskey was the only Briton in double figures. Sophomore guard Jaime Fornetti poured in eight points and first-year forward Ruthie Sventickas and junior forward Sarah Enfield added six apiece.
Albion outrebounded the Scots 37-21, getting contributions from just about everyone on the glass. Fornetti and senior forward Jocelyn Zappala led the Britons with eight boards each.
Behind Caskey's quick start, Albion was able to maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the game. The Scots got within 10 points six times, but each time the Britons responded with a big basket.
After Alma cut the lead to 58-48 with 3:09 remaining, the Britons came back with a 7-2 spurt to put the game out of reach.
After the Scots sliced Albion's lead down to 10, 23-13, with just under six minutes left in the first half, the Britons responded by finishing the half on a 13-8 run to take a 15-point advantage into the locker room.
Albion shot 50 percent from the field (26-52) while holding the Scots to just 36.2 percent shooting (21-58). The Britons were also very sharp on offense, turning the ball over just eight times compared to 16 Alma giveaways.
Karen Hall, who played all 40 minutes, led the Scots with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Michelle Dettling added nine points.
The win improved Albion's record to 16-4, 7-3 MIAA. Alma fell to 10-8, 4-5 MIAA.
Albion will continue its three-game road stretch when it travels to face Kalamazoo Wednesday, Feb. 4. Albion sports information director Bobby Lee will broadcast the play-by-play of the game over the internet at http://media.albion.edu/sports .
Newspaper Box Score Albion College vs Scots 1/31/04 3:00 EST at Alma, Mi At Alma, Mi ALBION COLLEGE 65, SCOTS 53 ALBION COLLEGE (16-4) Sarah Caskey 13-21 1-2 34; Jaime Fornetti 4-9 0-1 8; Ruthie Sventickas 3-6 0-0 6; Sarah Enfield 2-4 2-2 6; Jocelyn Zappala 1-4 2-2 4; Liz Marcuz 1-1 1-2 3; Vanessa Thompson 1-4 0-0 2; Angie Spain 1-2 0-0 2; Erin Hearn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 6-9 65. SCOTS (10-8) Karen Hall 9-14 4-4 22; Michelle Dettling 2-7 4-4 9; Ashley Borcherding 3-10 0-1 8; Lauran Bartelli 3-4 0-0 6; Katey Peacock 2-7 0-0 4; Rondi Lounds 2-11 0-0 4; Mindy VanDamme 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 8-9 53. Albion College................ 36 29 - 65 Scots......................... 21 32 - 53 3-point goals-Albion College 7-20 (Sarah Caskey 7-13; Jaime Fornetti 0-1; Ruthie Sventickas 0-2; Vanessa Thompson 0-2; Angie Spain 0-1; Erin Hearn 0-1), Scots 3-25 (Ashley Borcherding 2-6; Michelle Dettling 1-4; Katey Peacock 0-4; Rondi Lounds 0-5; Mindy VanDamme 0-5; Lauran Bartelli 0-1). Fouled out--Albion College-None, Scots-None. Rebounds-Albion College 37 (Jocelyn Zappala 8; Jaime Fornetti 8), Scots 21 (Karen Hall 11). Assists-Albion College 16 (Jocelyn Zappala 5; Sarah Caskey 5), Scots 13 (Rondi Lounds 4; Michelle Dettling 4). Total fouls-Albion College 15, Scots 12. A-300