By Weston Allenback
PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com - Nov. 17, 2012) - Entering Saturday's game with 19th-ranked Emporia State, CSU-Pueblo had never defeated a ranked opponent on its home floor.
However, thanks to a 23-point effort by Laurel Kearsley (Sr., Victor, Idaho), which helped earn her Al Kaly Classic Most Valuable Player honors, CSU-Pueblo pulled away from the Hornets in a tightly-contested game to defend their home court and start the season 2-0.
"We had two tough games this weekend. We didn't schedule easy," said Pack head coach Kip Drown. "Tonight was special because we knocked off a nationally-ranked team and we had never done that at home.
"I felt like if we want to go the places we have planned, we really needed to get the win tonight."
Early in the first half, the ThunderWolves held a lead of as many as 11, but the Hornets fought their way back, chipping away at the Pack lead. Both teams began to go on mini runs of four to five points and by halftime, the Hornets grabbed a one-point lead of 31-30.
In the second half, the ThunderWolves got into foul trouble when Erica Hicks (Sr., Lakewood, Colo.), the Pack's leading scorer in Friday's win over Cal Baptist, picked up her third and fourth fouls within two minutes of each other. She was forced to sit the majority of the half, but in her absence, the Pack rallied. They got ahold of the lead and extended it to five midway through the half.
"We have a lot of kids that can score," said Drown. "When you have a lot of people that can score, it makes us tough to defend. I felt like we got the ball into the right hands tonight and we were able to make plays."
While Hicks was on the bench, Kearsley saw more of the ball and didn't waste the opportunity. She scored 13 of her game -igh 23 points in the second half to help the Pack increase its lead to seven with fewer than three minutes to play.
"It was just a total team effort," said Kearsley. "A lot of our girls made some tough shots tonight and it was just a lot of fun."
The ThunderWolves also got a big game from point guard Jenay Locke (Jr., Gilbert, Ariz.) to pick up the slack for missing a main scorer in Hicks. She poured in 14 points to help the Pack get its second win in as many nights.
With the win, the ThunderWolves head out on the road to close out non-conference play next weekend in Montana. They will play a pair of games as a apart of the Montana State-Billings Classic Nov. 23 and 24 before returning home to open RMAC play against Adams State Nov. 30.
29th Annual Al Kaly Classic All-Tournament Team
Jade McIntosh (Western State)
Laura Patrick (Emporia State)
Simone Homles (Cal Baptist)
Desiree Wylie (Emporia State)
Katie Nehf (CSU-Pueblo).
MVP: Laurel Kearsley (CSU-Pueblo)
