SIUE Women's Basketball Team Win Exhibition

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The SIUE women's basketball team opened its 2012-13 season with a victory on Friday night, defeating Lewis University 65-56 in exhibition action at the Vadalabene Center.

Senior Raven Berry led the Cougars with 26 points and 16 rebounds, and SIUE rallied for the win after finding itself down 33-24 at halftime.

The Cougars were able to pull away in the second half, outscoring the Flyers 41-23 over the final 20 minutes.

Head Coach Paula Buscher, coaching in her first game at SIUE, said she was disappointed with her team's first half performance but liked how they responded after the break.

"We were really poor on defense in the first half," Buscher said.  "But what I liked was how we came out in the second half and defended.  We limited them on the offensive boards and we were able to get out in transition."

The Cougars clawed their way back into the game with an 11-0 run to start the second half.

Chipping in for SIUE were seniors Michaela Herrod and Courtney Kenner.  Herrod had eight points to go with 11 rebounds, while Kenner added 10 points of her own.

Freshman CoCo Moore also impressed in her first game as a Cougar, scoring 11 points while dishing out a team-high five assists.

But Berry was the catalyst for the Cougars' second-half surge.  The senior from Collinsville was 10-17 from the floor and 6-9 from the free throw line.

"Raven posts up hard and she wants the ball," Buscher said.  "When she gets the ball four feet from the basket, she's going to score.  It's tough to defend her with a single player."

Lewis was led by Jess Reinhart, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Cougars' regular season begins Nov. 11, when they travel to Ft. Wayne, Ind. to face IPFW at 1:00 pm CT.

"This was a great way to start," Buscher said.  "It's a win and now we have a lot to work on."