Lenoir-Rhyne
Women Defeat Presbyterian 91-88
For First Ever Win Over the Blue Hose
Hickory, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Basketball team defeated
Presbyterian 91-88 in overtime to snap a 25-game winless streak against the Blue Hose.Junior Maya Grady's 17 points, nine assists, and nine steals propelled the Bears to their 13th win of the season. L-R improved to 13-4 overall and 3-2 in the South Atlantic Conference while PC fell to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the SAC.
The Bears started with a quick 6-0 lead on three-pointers by sophomore Sally Logan and junior Amber Hanks. This would be the largest lead of the entire game for both teams. The Bears lead in the first half until the 7:32 mark when Presbyterian managed to knot the score at 24 apiece on a basket by senior Toni Leopard. L-R proceeded to score the next five points to take a 29-24 lead with 6:32 remaining.
In a high-scoring fast-paced first half the game remained close with Presbyterian taking their first lead 30-29 at the 5:14 mark. The Bears and Blue Hose traded baskets the rest of the half. PC took their largest lead of the game on freshman Dana Birnie's shot at the buzzer to give PC a 48-42 lead.
For the first half, the Bears were led by Hanks' nine points and Grady's six assists. For PC, the first half was highlighted by sophomore Bonnie Werner's 17 points. Both teams shot the lights out in the first half as L-R connected on 50 percent of their shots and the Blue Hose shot 54.5 percent from the floor.
In the second half the two teams continued to trade baskets. After trailing by six at the half, the Bears tied the game at 52 with 17:01 remaining. From the 16:08 mark to the half way point in the second half the Bears went on a 10-2 run to gain a 62-57 lead. Once again the game remained very close, as the score stayed within three points for the last nine minutes of the second half. With under a minute remaining, Logan stole the ball and was fouled. She made two free throws to push L-R's lead to three with 18 seconds remaining. With five seconds remaining, senior Nicole Chittam sank a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 81 and to propel the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the Bears jumped out to an early four-point lead on lay-ups by senior Tracy Naidas and Logan. L-R increased their lead to 89-84 on two Logan free throws. The Bears' stingy defense held PC to only two points in the first three minutes of overtime. Naidas made the Bears' final field goal as the Bears out-scored the Blue Hose 10-7 in the extra period.
Leopard missed a desperation three-pointer with seven seconds left that would have tied the game. The Bears grabbed the rebound and jumped with joy for the program's first ever win over Presbyterian.
The Bears were lead by Logan's 20 points and six rebounds and Grady's 17 points, nine steals, and nine assists. Contributing off the bench for 16 points was Naidas who also grabbed six rebounds. Hanks was the fourth Bear to score in double figures as she added 11 points in the winning effort for the Bears.
Presbyterian was lead by Werner's 26 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Leopard recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Also contributing for the Blue Hose was Chittam who totaled 10 points. Birnie added seven points and 10 rebounds in the effort for the Blue Hose.
The Bears will be back in action Wednesday as they host conference foe Wingate University. Presbyterian will travel to Salisbury, N.C. to play SAC leader Catawba College.