Johnson Acquires 10th Double-Double Of Season In Loss To MHC
MARS HILL, N.C. – Morgan Johnson acquired her 10th double-double of the 2006-07 season, but it was not enough as the Mars Hill Lions downed PC 89-65 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action on Wednesday evening at Stanford Arena.
Johnson (Marietta, Ga.) had a team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Reigning South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week Abby DeBusk led Mars Hill with 20 points. DeBusk (New Tazewell, Tenn.) also had six assists and four steals in 29 minutes on the court.
DeBusk was one of three Lions in double figures. Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) tallied 14 points in the victory, while guard Allison Schafer (Advance, N.C.) chimed in with 12 points.
Bridget Takach (Chapin, S.C.) picked up 13 points for PC in the loss.
Presbyterian and Mars Hill stayed close to each other in the inaugural minutes of the contest. Tishe Sanders (Laurens, S.C.) scored five early points, including the game’s opening three-pointer that gave PC a very early 3-0 lead.
Mars Hill rolled off to an 11-0 run a few minutes later to pull ahead by nine at 21-12. PC’s Takach nailed a three-pointer with just under 11:30 left in the first stanza to thwart the lead and negate the run.
The Lions from that point on continued to pad on to their advantage, outscoring the Lady Blue Hose 27-15 in the final 11 minutes to take a 21 point lead into halftime at 48-27.
Mars Hill, who had two 11-0 runs in the first half, was led in the first stanza by Debusk’s 11 points and five assists.
Presbyterian commenced the second half by scoring eight of the first 10 points in the half to cut the MHC lead to 15 points.
The Lions would not let the Lady Blue Hose get any closer, going on a 12-3 run to take their largest lead up to that point of the contest at 23 points.
The Lions would eventually push their lead to as many as 30 points in the second half.
The Lady Blue Hose fall to 5-15 overall and 0-9 in the SAC with the loss, while Mars Hill improves to 5-4 in league play and 12-8 overall.
Presbyterian next welcomes Lenoir-Rhyne to the Templeton Center on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tip-off between the Lady Bears and Lady Blue Hose is slated for 2 p.m.