JOHN CURTIS - Daily Union Sports Editor
Central A&M; lost again at home on Thursday, this time to Tolono Unity, 52-31.
The Raiders were beat in a close game at home last week by CHBC. They then went to Pana and were whipped by 20. They came home and knocked off Sullivan on Tuesday and thought they had righted the ship. But after tonight, they had to reach for the Tums again.
Tolono held A&M; to just five points early, then stayed a pace ahead in the second to lead by nine at the break, 27-18. A 14-6 run in the third put the Raiders seriously behind the 8-ball and they could never make up any ground down the stretch, losing by 21.
Shelby Jackson led the Raiders in scoring again, but had just 10 points, evenly spaced through out the game and shot zero free throws. Carissa Burge upped her game, after producing sub-par numbers in the last few games. Burge had nine points on a pair of twos, a triple and 2-of-2 foul shooting. Burge also led the Raiders in rebounding with seven boards and had three steals. Waddington had a solo 3-pointer.
That's about all the excitement A&M; sparked. They did break into double figures in the second, scoring 13 points, but even then Tolono bested them by five. Jackson, Collins and Burge each scored four points in the second. They had zero multiple scorers in the other three periods.
Dani Gooch led Tolono with 15 points, again, evenly spaced through the game. Lauren Grubb, however, scored 7 of her 13 points in the third period to keep A&M; from cutting into the Unity lead. A&M; only shot four free throws (3-of-4), while Tolono shot 20 (11-of-20). A&M; grabbed only 21 rebounds and only had five offensive rebounds. They had as many turnovers as steals and assists combined, 16.
Tolono 52, Central A&M; 31
Unity 9-18-14-11--52
A&M; 5-13-6-7--31
A&M; stats: Jackson 10 (5 FGs), 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist, 2 blocks; Burge 9 (2-2s, 1-3 pt FG, 2/2 FTs), 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists; Amanda Collins 4 (2 FGs); Waddington 3 (FG); Kresin 2 (FG), 1 steal; Allie Dial 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block; Lyndi Minott 1 assist;Graven 1 rebound; Adcock 1 assist. Team FGs 13 (2--3 pt: Burge, Waddington). Team FTs 3-of-4. Rebounds 21 (5 Off). Steals 10. Assists 6. Blocks 3. Turnovers 16.
Unity stats: Gooch 15 (5-2s, 1-3 ptFGs, 2/5 FTs), Grubb 13 (6 FGs, 1/2 FTs), Fender 10 (4 FGs, 2/2 FTs), Walden 8 (2 FGs, 4/6 FTs), Keener 6 (2 FGs, 2/3 FTs), Hartman (0/2 FTs). Team FGs 20 (1-3 pt: Gooch). Team FTs 11-of-20.
