Lady Miners put on shooting display in exhibition win

Chism McEntire

The Lady Miners plan to use the three-point shot more often in the 2006-07 season and Friday's exhibition game showed why that decision was made.

UMR put on a shooting display from long range as it made 13-of-22 shots from three-point range and 61.5 percent overall in a 101-63 romp over St. Louis Gold Star in an exhibition game at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

Junior guard Chism McEntire, who was making her UMR debut Friday night, hit six of the three-pointers in 10 attempts to score a game-high 18 points. She was one of four players in double figures for UMR as Nicole Dierking scored 12, Maggie Thompson had 11 and Emily Petrea, another newcomer to the program, ended up with 10.

UMR was able to take the drama out of the affair rather quickly in the first half, as McEntire hit a pair of three-pointers in an early 10-0 run that gave the Lady Miners a 12-2 lead just 4:48 into play. UMR pushed that lead out beyond 20 points before the second media timeout, going up by as many as 29 points in the opening half at 42-13 with just over five minutes to go before halftime.

The Lady Miners led 52-25 at halftime after shooting 59.5 percent from the field, including a 6-of-12 showing from behind the arc. UMR made seven of its 12 three-point shots after the intermission, with McEntire connecting four times in that stretch.

UMR, which used a number of players for extended periods of time in the game, led by as many as 45 points in the final 20 minutes before setting for a final margin of 38.

The Lady Miners also enjoyed an 11-rebound edge in the game, with Jaime Forsberg and Petrea pulling down a team-high seven apiece. Forsberg also had nine assists in the game as UMR had assists on 28 of its 40 field goals.

Two former Lady Miners, Tiffani Rhodes and Janel McNeal-Lewis, led the Gold Star squad in scoring with 15 and 13 points, respectively.

UMR opens its 2006-07 regular season Nov. 17 in the UMR Tip-Off Classic with a 7:30 p.m. game against Wayne State (Mich.). The Lady Miners will then face Saginaw Valley State the following day at 3 p.m.