ST. LOUIS – This evening the Harris-Stowe State University women’s basketball team kicked off their season when they played host to the Rust (Miss.) College Bearcats in a nonconference matchup. The Hornets were defeated by the Bearcats by a final score of 81-45 to fall to 0-1 on the season. With the win, the Bearcats improve to 1-0 on the year.

In the first half of the game, both sides came out and had trouble scoring the ball early. However, the Bearcats settled in as the first quarter progressed and were able to take a 20-8 lead into the second. The Hornets continued to struggle in the second quarter, and the Bearcats were able to grow their lead to 39-20 at the break.

Harris-Stowe came out in the second and picked up the tempo from the start. They were able to cut the Bearcats lead down to single digits midway through the quarter, but another run from the Bearcats to end the period put them up 62-42 heading into the fourth. Harris-Stowe was outscored 19-3 in the final quarter and the Bearcats cruised to their first win of the season.

The Hornets had a tough time getting anything going in this one as they went just 16-for-54 (29.6%) from the field and 1-for-15 (6.7%) from behind the arc. They turned the ball over 28 times while forcing the Bearcats to turn the ball over 22 times. They were outrebounded 36-32 and allowed the Bearcats to grab 16 offensive boards.

Ronne’zje Elliot (JR/Louisville, Ky.) led the way for the Hornets as she finished with a team high 12 points and a team high eight rebounds. In addition to Elliot, Kambri Davison (SR/Tulsa, Okla.) finished with 10 points and a game high seven steals while Keuna Cummings (JR/Dallas, Texas) added 10 points and a block to round out the top performers for the Hornets.

Jasmine Coleman led the way for the Bearcats with 19 points.