Roosevelt survives injury scare

Updated: December 1, 2011 10:26PM

GARY — As far as momentum killers go, this one could‘ve been drastic.

Part of a high octane run-and-gun Roosevelt offense, playmaker Kelly Moten flew into the paint just like she had for 10 other points in the first 11 minutes.

But with 2:43 on the clock in the second quarter, the senior fell to floor, splitting her chin. She left Bo Mallard Gymnasium to get stitches. With Moten gone, Hammond drew as close as six points at halftime.

The intermission break was crucial for Roosevelt.

“The way we looked at it, after halftime, we looked at it as a new game, the score was 0-0,” Roosevelt’s Takita Lenoir said.

And that response, part of new formula this season, fueled the Panthers to 62-48 romp over the Wildcats. In a lopsided 17-4 run in the third quarter Lenoir, who had two 3-pointers in the period and finished with 14 points, and Chantele McDonald, who hit a pair of field goals and led the team with 18 points, filled the void and pushed Roosevelt to the victory.

First-year Roosevelt (4-1) coach Ron Swain’s mission is to get everyone involved. So, with the surprising exit of Moten, followed by the response from the rest of the team, the home stretch looks promising.

“That’s the type of confidence and the type of play we need going into December,” he said.

Added McDonald: “With (Moten) being gone, we just have to (at the time) come together and do it for our teammate.”

Hammond (0-5) coach Tony Chase said his squad tried to hard to keep up with the pace.

“We’ll turn it around, unfortunately it hasn’t happened just yet,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to be 5-0 than 0-5.”

Dezier Jordan led Hammond with 15 points.

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