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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Doug Roorbach, Sports Information Director 585.567.9556

Houghton Women Down Milligan at Rio Tournament

(Rio Grande, Ohio)—The Houghton College women’s basketball team beat Milligan College 67-62 in the consolation game of the Bevo Francis Tournament at Rio Grande University on Saturday afternoon.

          Senior guard Cassie Merrill (Houghton, N.Y./Houghton Academy) had a game-high 29 points to lead Houghton. Three other Highlanders—Becky Kallal (West Chester, Pa./Delaware County Christian School), Marci Jonathan (Elba, N.Y./Elba) and Stephanie Hudson (Bloomfield, N.Y./Bloomfield)—each added eight points.

          “Cassie definitely had the hot hand tonight,” said Highlander Head Coach Skip Lord. However, he added, the victory was far from one-dimensional. “It was definitely a team thing,” he said. “We were strong defensively and we did well on the boards.”

          Houghton did own a slight edge in rebounds, 27-25, but that was typical of this close game, which Lord described as “well-fought, well-played and exciting to watch.”

          The Highlanders went out to a halftime lead, 32-24, but gave up the lead—and more—early in the second half. Milligan led by as many as six in the second half, “but we were able to come back and re-take the lead,” Lord said.

          At the end of the game, it came down to taking care of the ball, securing important rebounds and protecting the lead, according to Lord. And having Merrill hit 11 of 18 from the floor (including seven of 14 three-pointers) didn’t hurt, either.

          “She really stepped up and demonstrated great leadership,” Lord said of Merrill, “She did an awesome job on the offensive end of the floor.”

          Houghton evened its record at 1-1 while Milligan fell to 1-5. The Highlanders’ next game is Tuesday, November 27, against Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio.

Houghton College has deep and solid roots in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, where our teams use their commitment to excellence, both on the field-of-play and in the classroom, as a platform for their strong and unique emphasis on Sports Ministry. Their goal is to make a difference for the Kingdom on campus, in Allegany County, in the Northeast and around the world.  Houghton is one of only 13 institutions who have been hand-selected by the NAIA to serve as "Champions of Character" Program Centers, opening the door for Houghton to be a leader, both in the Northeast and nationally, in character education. Through hands-on, innovative community outreach initiatives, Houghton coaches and student-athletes are working together to change the culture of sport and to change our culture through sport.