School-Record 40-Point Game For Cooper Keys Wells Win

Wells College women's basketball senior Ashida Cooper set a school single-game record with 40 points and the Express began North Eastern Athletic Conference play with an 87-76 victory at Cazenovia College on Wednesday, Nov. 30. The Express is now 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the NEAC. Cazenovia is 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Cooper's 40-point effort came on 16 successful field goals on 28 attempts, and an 8-for-8 performance at the free throw line. She eclipsed the previous single-game record of 39 points, set by Ashley Rozer on Feb. 10, 2013 at SUNY Poly. Cooper's previous career-high scoring game was 29 points, which she achieved twice in the 2015-16 season.

Wells trailed 21-18 after the first quarter and 38-33 at halftime, but the Express took control in the third quarter. Wells outscored Cazenovia 29-15 in the third quarter, which included a game-changing 17-6 run by the Express to open the second half.

The Express carried a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and closed out the victory with 25 points in the final quarter, including 12 points from Cooper on three layups and six free throws.

Three other Wells players scored in double figures in the game, with Carley Ryan scoring 18, Shelby Medovich adding 17 and Kamarie Maturine scoring 10. Maturine and Cooper shared the rebounding lead with 13 boards each. Cooper had six steals and five assists to complete her record-setting performance.

Wells shot 15-of-19 from the free throw line, and forced 18 Cazenovia turnovers.

The Express continues NEAC play this weekend with afternoon games Saturday at SUNY Polytechnic Institute and Sunday at SUNY Cobleskill.