Senior Stephanie Balon scored a career-high 22 points and Patrice McBee added her eighth double-double of the season to power the No. 9 Purdue University Calumet women’s basketball team to a convincing 73-50 league victory over visiting Roosevelt University Wednesday.
Balon (Wanatah, Ind./South Central) made 9 of 14 shots – including 4 of 7 from deep – to help the Peregrines (14-3, 6-1 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) win their 19th-straight home game dating back to last season. McBee (Monterey, Ind./Culver Community) added 10 points and a season-high 15 rebounds and senior Kami Graber (Nashville, Ind./Brown County) netted 20 points on 7 of 15 shooting with four assists and three steals.
Roosevelt (6-13, 2-6) held a slim lead in at the 11:46 mark in the first half (16-15) before the Peregrines went on a 22-6 run over the next nine minutes to take a 14-point lead, 37-23, capped by a Graber 3-pointer. Graber scored nine points during the run, which was also aided by a jumper and a triple from Balon. The Lakers didn’t fold, using a 7-0 run of their own to close the half, down 37-30 heading in the locker room.
Purdue Calumet made its move midway through the second half, pushing an early nine-point lead to 17 (58-41) with 8:57 to play. Balon drained three of her four 3s during that stretch to help the Peregrines pull away, leading by as many as 25 (73-48) down the stretch. Roosevelt’s 50 points was the second-lowest point total allowed by the Peregrine defense this season, which held Viterbo to 49 in a 107-49 victory in the first game of the 2014-15 campaign.
The Peregrines dominated in the paint and in points off turnovers, outscoring the Lakers 32-18 and 19-9, respectively. Purdue Calumet finished 44.4 percent (28 of 63) from the field for the game compared to 32.2 percent (19 of 59) for the Lakers, who made just two 3-pointers (2-13) compared to seven (7-22) for the home team.
Sophomore Cassidy Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) added eight points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals and freshman Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) added three steals, two points and an assist in just six minutes for the Peregrines.
Sara Beck scored 13 points and Jasmine Kyler added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers in the loss.
Purdue Calumet returns to action Saturday, when the Peregrines travel to Deerfield, Ill., for a CCAC matchup at Trinity International. Game time is set for 1 p.m. (CT).