Pride women's basketball takes down Cardinal Stritch 80-51

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Starting 2021-22 in a non-conference matchup against Cardinal Stritch University, the Clarke University women's basketball team announced their presence with authority on Tuesday night with an 80-51 win over the Wolves.

The Pride outscored Cardinal Stritch in every quarter including limiting CSU to single digit point outputs in both the first and third quarters to eventually get to the near 30-pint final margin.

Head Coach Courtney Boyd used the team success to balance the minutes relatviely evenly with no player getting more than 28 minutes played, six players on the court for over 20, and all 10 players that saw action getting on the court for nine or more minutes.

Forwards Emma Kelchen and Taylor Haase had efficient nights scoring 22 and 15 respectively as Kelchen finished with the game high while being one rebound short of a double-double. Haase battled foul trouble as the first player off the bench for CU, finishing with four fouls but ended the night shooting 6-for-9 from the field with four rebounds and a blocked shot.

In the back court, Giana Michels scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from distance while adding six rebounds. In a down scoring night for Nicole McDermott, the sophomore grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds with 10 of them coming on the defensive glass as she added three assists, a steal, and four points.

Clarke will return home for a pair of games against strong opponents this Friday and Saturday as they host Dakota State University and Wayland Baptist University this Friday and Saturday at the Kehl Center at 5:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. CT respectively as part of the Holiday Inn Express Tip-Off Classic.