Women's Basketball 10/26/2021 11:00:00 AM

Women's Basketball Notes -- Week 2

THIS WEEK
OUAZ will continue its tour of the Arizona Cal Pac teams this week with a pair of games in the valley. The Spirit is set to play Benedectine Mesa on Wednesday at the Mesa InterStake Center. They will then travel to play Park Gilbert on Saturday at the PHHacility in Phoenix.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Both of this week's road games will have a live video stream available. Wednesday's game can be seen on the Benedictine Mesa Game Central portal, while Park Gilbert will broadcast Saturday's game on its YouTube channel. Links for both streams are available at OUAZSpirit.com/live.

ABOUT THE SPIRIT
OUAZ opened its new season on Saturday with a 72-50 loss at Embry-Riddle in Prescott. The loss marked the second straight season the Spirit dropped the season opener after winning the season's first game in each of the program's first three seasons.

While they scored 50 points, the Spirit shot 27.8 percent from the field and 15.8 percent from beyond the arc. They allowed Embry-Riddle to shoot 35.4 percent overall and 26.9 percent from deep.

The Spirit collected 42 rebounds and tallied ten assists with 27 turnovers. They forced the Eagles into 24 turnovers with seven steals and two blocked shots.

Elizabeth Ortwine led the Spirit at ERAU with 10 points. Her first career double-digit scoring effort included a pair of threes, five rebounds, and two assists.

Cierra Kiser scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds in her OUAZ debut. She hit 5 of 8 from the foul line while also posting a pair of assists and getting one steal.

Tanna Decker finished with seven points and went 1 of 3 from 3-point territory. She led the team with three assists and contributed three boards and one steal.

Makayla Holthaus and Violet Toon also had seven points apiece in the opener.

SERIES HISTORY
OUAZ is 1-4 all-time against the Redhawks from Benedictine Mesa. They have dropped both games hosted by BenU. The teams haven't played since the Redhawks defeated the Spirit 81-56 at Faith Arena on November 16, 2019.

The Spirit has yet to lose in two meetings against Park Gilbert, including an 83-66 win over the Buccaneers on October 28, 2019, in the first-ever home game for Park. The Spirit also claimed a 62-45 victory at Faith Arena on January 2, 2020.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Spirit will make their Faith Arena season debut on November 6 when they welcome Park Gilbert to town for the second of two meetings between the programs this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., and tickets are available now at OUAZSpirit.com/tickets.

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Players Mentioned

#44 Makayla Holthaus: F; 6' 1"; Freshman

#4 Elizabeth Ortwine: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

#21 Tanna Decker: G; 5' 5"; Freshman

#15 Cierra Kiser: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

#1 Violet Toon: F; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#44 Makayla Holthaus
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: F

#4 Elizabeth Ortwine
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G

#21 Tanna Decker
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: G

#15 Cierra Kiser
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

#1 Violet Toon
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: F