Saturday, January 10, 2004
WESSINGER PACES PRESBYTERIAN
IN WIN OVER PIONEERS
"PC's Bonnie Werner Scores 1,000th Career Point in Win"
"PC's Bonnie Werner Scores 1,000th Career Point in Win"
Wessinger missed just two shots all afternoon as she went 7-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. She also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Senior guard Bonnie Werner (Kennesaw, Ga.) got her name in the PC record books by recording her 1,000th career point, becoming the 15th player in school history to reach that plateau.
The tone of the game was set from the very beginning as Presbyterian shutout TC for the first four minutes while building an 8-0 lead. The Blue Hose stretched their lead to 11 (20-9) with 12:19 to play on a jump shot from Werner.
Tusculum battled back and went on a 14-3 run over the next 3:38 and tied the game on a three-point play from junior guard Julie Maples (Knoxville, Tenn.). The Blue Hose scored the next four points and never relinquished the lead.
At the 7:37 mark, Tusculum trailed by just one, 27-26, but four PC players combined to score the next nine points, giving them a 10-point lead with just over four minutes to play in the opening period, and eventually took a nine-point advantage into halftime (47-38).
The two teams' shooting percentage was virtually dead even (PC 46.7%, TC 46.4%), but the telling stat was the rebound column. PC outboarded Tusculum 23-14, including 10-9 on the Blue Hose end of the floor.
Presbyterian opened the second half almost the same way as the first, outscoring Tusculum 6-2 in the first three-plus minutes, giving them the largest lead of the contest, 53-40. The Pioneers answered with an 8-0 run to pull within five, capped off by a lay-up from sophomore forward Kelley Karns (Pilot Mountain, N.C.).
The Blue Hose broke open the game at the 13:18 mark when two free throws from sophomore forward Amber Redding (Sevierville, Tenn.) got Tusculum to a five-point deficit at 57-52. The Pioneers missed their next 10 shots while PC made nine of its next 15, including five in a row. The 22-1 run gave Presbyterian a 79-53 lead with 5:01 to go in the game. It was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed in the rally.
Along with Wessinger's 19, senior guard Billie Haskins (Greensboro, Ga.) tallied 14, while sophomore forward Cameron Cook (Greensboro, N.C.) and Werner added 12 each. Werner also dished out a game-high six assists.
Maples was the only Tusculum player in double figures as she recorded 18 on the afternoon.
Both teams will return to action Wednesday night at 6 p.m. Tusculum (6-8, 0-1 SAC) hosts Catawba College and Presbyterian (5-8, 1-0 SAC) travels to Wingate University.