Lawson Hangs 46 as Racers Cruise on Opening Night

LIMA, OH - UNOH women's basketball opened the new season in style coasting to a 41-point victory behind a record-setting performance by one of the country's most prolific scorers Thursday night. Senior Alysia Lawson set a new program record with 46 points as the Racers ran away from Great Lakes Christian for a 111-70 win, the biggest opening night win in program history.

Lawson's 46 points tops her own record of 43 set two seasons ago and falls just one point short of the all-time conference record. She knocked down 56% of her shots from the field with 19 made field goals that surpasses the previous record of 18 that had stood for 17 years (Krissy Koester - 2008).

All five Racer starters logged double-digit scoring nights with two different freshman bagging double-doubles in their debut. Lori Huffman scored 16 on 8-12 (67%) shooting from the field while Sanaiiya Gray put up ten with both pulling down 14 boards in the game. Brooke Asher finished two assists short of a double-double herself recording 17 points, also in her debut, while Olivia Thompson tallied 18 points and seven rebounds.

"The girls were excited to get the season going and I was pleased with our mental approach tonight," stated head coach Matt Vavro after the game. "I was really proud of our effort and I thought we shared the ball well. With a lot of new faces, I believe we will continue to get better and better as the year progresses."

Those new faces combined well with Vavro's returners to result in 28 total assists as a team which marks the second most of his tenure and the program's second most in a game since 2014. UNOH also put together a powerful showing on the boards pulling down 58 total rebounds, the most in the Vavro Era, with 41 coming on the defensive side which ties for the second most in a game in program history.

The Racers will be off for six days now but will stay home for two games next week hosting Cincinnati-Clermont on Wednesday, October 29 and No. 23 Shawnee State on Saturday.