Wednesday, February 4, 2004
NIU gets Rost-ed by W. Michigan guard
Broncos junior scores 32, has twin brother on men’s team
Article by:
Adam Zolmierski - Sports Reporter
• azolmierski@northernstar.info
So far, it has been a good week for the Rost family.
Levis Rost, of the first place men’s Western Michigan squad, won
the MAC West Player of the Week award Monday. On Tuesday, his twin sister
Casey, who plays on the women’s basketball team, set a Convocation
Center scoring record with 32 points to beat NIU 79-69.
Casey, who leads the MAC in scoring at 19.9 points a game, has scored
more than 30 points three times this season. Two of her 30-point games
have come against the Huskies.
“You give her a little bit of an open look and she’s nailing
it,” NIU coach Carol Hammerle said. “Her shot is the same
all the time. That’s why she’s so consistent.”
The 5-foot-9 junior scored the first five points of the game and had
13 points midway through the first half.
NIU enjoyed one lead in the game, but 14 seconds later, Casey hit a
three-pointer from the left wing to put the Broncos ahead for good.
“Someone on our team hit a three to put us back up,” WMU
coach Ron Stewart joked with Rost at the press conference. “I’m
not too sure who that was.”
Casey also added four steals, four rebounds and two assists. She had
six three-pointers and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.
With NIU down six points with 23.6 seconds to go, it needed to foul
to stay in the game. WMU wanted to get the ball to its most reliable
free-throw shooter. Stewart repeatedly yelled out “Casey”
to let his team know who he wanted to be at the line.
Casey hit four free throws for the Broncos in the last minute of the
game to secure the win.
She is second in the MAC at 84.6 percent from the foul line. Last season,
as a sophomore, she set the Broncos’ record for free-throw percentage
in a season at 90.3 percent.
The win also helped keep the Broncos in a tie atop the entire MAC.
“I felt I had to do whatever I could to help the team win,”
Casey said. “I was looking for the post players tonight, but if
the open shot was there, I was going to take it.”
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