Wednesday, January 18, 2006
JONES LEADS LADY BLUE HOSE PAST INDIANS 79-69
CLINTON, S.C. — Presbyterian College placed four players in double figures led by sophomore guard Amy Jones' (Warthen, Ga.) team-high 18 points as the Lady Blue Hose defeated Newberry College 79-69 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action Wednesday night in the Ross E. Templeton Center.
Presbyterian, ranked No. 5 in the first South Atlantic region poll released today, improves to 14-3 overall, 3-1 in the league, while Newberry falls to 9-7 overall, 1-3 in the SAC.
The first half had eight ties and five lead changes. Presbyterian opened their biggest lead of six points (17-11) at the 9:42 mark on a layup by senior forward Rebecca Wessinger (Laurens, S.C.). Newberry led by a many as five points (32-27) on a layup by sophomore forward Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) at the 1:31 mark. The Lady Blue Hose responded by closing the first half on a 5-0 run and Jones’ three-pointer with :12 seconds remaining, tied the game at 32-32 entering halftime. Frasier led the Indians with 11 first half points, while freshman center Sharie Hopkins (Chesapeake, Va.) paced the Lady Blue Hose with nine points and six boards.
The second half opened with Newberry pulling out to a five-point lead at 41-36 with 16:14 to play on a layup by sophomore guard Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.). The Lady Blue Hose responded by tying the game at 42-42 at the 13:33 mark on a layup by Jones. PC would then push the lead to its largest margin of 14 points (66-52) at the 5:08 mark on another jumper by Jones. The Indians would make one last run behind a 15-7 run to trim the lead to 73-67 with 1:42 remaining to play. Newberry’s Frasier and Alexander would combine for nine of the points during the run. Presbyterian would hit four-of-five free throw attempts in the final minute and Hopkins added a layup to give the Lady Blue Hose the 79-69 victory.
Jones added five boards, four assists, and three blocked shots on the night for the Lady Blue Hose, while Wessinger added 16 points and a pair of assists. Hopkins tallied her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds and freshman guard Marie Marquez (Greenville, S.C.) came off the bench to score 11 points and add two steals.
Newberry was led by Alexander’s game-high 20 points on six-of-11 shooting from the line, while Frasier added a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) added 18 points for the Indians.
PC travels to Hickory, N.C. on Saturday, January 21 for a 6:00 pm tip-off with Lenoir-Rhyne College, while Newberry hosts Tusculum College on Saturday at 2:00 pm.