Tamika Nurse fits in well with the Falcon women’s basketball team.

After tying for the team’s lead in points last week during an exhibition with Findlay, Nurse came out strong in her first official game with the team – a 76-41 win against Chicago State in first round Preseason WNIT action Friday night.

Nurse led the team with 21 points, hitting 7-of-11 shots, including four three-pointers.

‘It was a good way to get my feet under me,’ Nurse said. ‘It was a good win for our program.’

But it wasn’t all pretty for the Falcons – especially during the first half.

The Falcons struggled out of the gate, shooting 12-of-23 for 37.5 percent in the first half, without any points from their bench.

The bench recovered in the second half though, netting 24 points, 11 of which came from Jen Uhl, and the team as a whole shot a much improved 56 percent from the field.

But more importantly, the team’s defense was able to keep Chicago State off the three-point line and get them to commit 28 turnovers that turned into 34 Falcon points.

‘We kept a very talented offensive team off balance,’ said coach Curt Miller. ‘They are a very, very good shooting team.’

Nurse – who had three steals in the game – was equally impressed with the defensive effort.

‘Our defense can turn into offense,’ Nurse said.

Rings and a banner

The 2008-09 Falcon squad received their Mid-American Conference regular season championship rings.

The winningest player in MAC history and lone senior from last season – Lindsay Goldsberry – was on hand and unveiled the 2009 WNIT banner, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd.

Possible redshirt

Miller said after the game the team is considering redshirting freshman Jessie Tamerlano.’