DELAND, Fla. – An all-around effort, including six Hatters in double figures, led Stetson past Johnson University, 92-22, Tuesday night in the Edmunds Center.
"We're just looking at execution [in this one]," head coach
Lynn Bria said, "The third quarter seems to bother us, and we need to address that. It doesn't seem to matter who we play. We have to come out ready. We fouled them more than I would have liked to, so we're still looking at execution. We can still take some things from this game. We started playing much better in the final part of the fourth quarter. We shared the ball really well and that's why we had so many people in double-digit scoring. Jaelyn Talley started us off great and she is going to be so good. Tremendous upside. I think our returning players will help the new players come along even faster."
The Hatters took control on the court early as they shot 13-of-20 in the first quarter, sailing past Johnson's 2 made field goals. The Hatters were pushing hard at the net collecting 15 of the 20 total first-quarter rebounds. Although Stetson's shooting percentage began to falter at the end of the first quarter, their quick reactions on the court brought them an early lead of 28-6 at the end of the first.
After the Hatters took control in the first, their momentum only continued in the second quarter as Jaelyn Talley racked up 11 points to be the lead scorer in the first half. The Hatter's defense gave Johnson some trouble in terms of getting to the net, going ahead of the Suns 45-8 going into the break at halftime.
Stetson's lead only continued to grow in the third quarter. With Stetson's continued resilience on the court, the Hatters lead the Suns 64-10 at the end of the third.
Johnson began to show some fight in the fourth quarter scoring more points in the final quarter than they had earned in the last three quarters put together, but it was no match for Stetson's already commanding lead and
Haley Stinebrickner's impressive three 3-pointers (3-for-4), the final score a Hatter 70-point win, 92-22.
"Our biggest thought going into the game was executing," graduate student Sydney Gouard said "We went into it thinking about executing on offense, working on defense and our plays. It was an all-around effort, but
Maddie Novak it was her first game back and she just dominated. You couldn't tell it was her first game back. We will take what we learned from this one, watch film and go into practice to execute."
Stetson stats notched 27 assists on 38 field goals. Talley recorded a team-leading 13 points with Gouard popping in 12. Jordan Peete and Skylar Treadwell each notched 11 with
Haley Stinebrickner and Anabel Ellison registering in 10 apiece. Ellison paced the team with six assists. Treadwell and Jordan Peete each collected three steals.
Maddie Novak collected the most boards with seven.
The difficulty ramps back up for the Hatters with Furman making the trip to DeLand. That game tips off Saturday at 5 p.m.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS (PDF).
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