Freshman Danielle Schmidt splits the Roadrunners’ defenders Feb. 8 at Titan Court. Schmidt finished the contest with 21 points. (Photo by Josh Rose)
By Lindsey Kidwell
The Titans sent the Linn-Benton Roadrunners (10-12, 3-6 Southern Region) on the road, running back to Albany after a 77-54 win on Feb. 8 while continuing a six-game winning streak.
The Titans improved to 18-4 and 8-1 in conference.
For the crowd, the game appeared to be an easy win for the Titans, never holding less than an 11-point lead in the second half.
But the team felt differently.
“We dug ourselves a hole. They were scoring, and we weren’t scoring,” said freshman Kersey Wilcox.
After a slow start, the Titans quickly jumped ahead and hit the ground running. They went into halftime with a 10-0 run behind them and led 32-19.
Wilcox ended the game with 23 points, including four baskets from behind the arc, and hit the floor with an explosive 6-0 run to start off the second half. She was 8-of-14 from the field and finished with seven assists.
“This is our house,” Wilcox said. “We knew we had to own up to it, and we tried to go out there and dominate.”
The Roadrunners erupted offensively and brought the game down to an 11-point deficit mid-way through the second half with an 11-0 run.
Linn-Benton sophomore post Heidi Halemeier completed the game with an outstanding second half, earning a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“(The Titans) had a really good full court press, which is one of our weaknesses. We just tried to rush it, which caused traveling and turnovers and not being able to set up our plays,” said Halemeier.
The Roadrunners committed 32 turnovers.
The Titans shot 44 percent from inside the arc but completed 14-of-36 from the three-point line. Wilcox and freshman Danielle Schmidt scored eight of the 14 three-pointers.
Schmidt has earned herself a starting role, becoming a key player in and out of the paint for the Titans. She ended the game making 7-of-10 field goals and 4-of-5 from the three-point line. She finished with 21 points, all in the second half.
“I started out with not a lot of confidence and now it’s starting to get there,” said Schmidt, “It makes a big difference getting to practice with the people you play with in the game.”
The Titans turned in their sixth win in a row, and are hungry for more.
“It’s really nice. I really thought they had been playing well building up, and so maybe my expectations for tonight were a little bit high, but they’ve really shown us that they can do a lot of positive things,” said Head Coach Greg Sheley.
After a devastating loss to the Chemeketa Storm (14-5, 6-2 Southern Region) earlier this season, the Titans are getting geared up to make a comeback against the stiff Southern Region competitors on Saturday in hopes of bringing home a seventh straight win.
