Lions Down Wolves to Earn First SAC Win

MARS HILL, N.C.- Mars Hill used balanced scoring and a solid defensive effort to defeat Newberry 61-58 for the Lions first South Atlantic Conference victory of the season Wednesday evening in Stanford Arena.

Three Lions scored in double figures, while defensively MHC forced 24 turnovers and held the Wolves to 37.3 percent shooting (22-of-59). Ansley Ricker paced Mars Hill with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. The Lions held SAC leading scorer Haylee Lepaio to 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting, six points below her season average. Mars Hill improved to 4-13 overall and 1-8 in SAC play. Newberry fell to 14-5 overall and 6-3 in conference play.

Armeka Booker and Kristen Metcalf added 10 points apiece for MHC. Kelsey Espinosa provided a solid defensive effort with six steals, to go along with seven points and a career-high four assists. The Lions shot 43.4 percent from the field (23-of-53), scored 26 points off Newberry turnovers and got 18 points from their bench.

Samantha Creed led all scorers with 22 points for Newberry. Tasia Holdorf added 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting. The Wolves held a 32-24 advantage in scoring in the paint.

The Lions grabbed the first two points of the game on a fast-break feed from Ricker to Booker and never trailed in the first half. Mars Hill's lead hovered between one and four points for the game's first nine minutes before the Lions were able to gain separation, outscoring Newberry 15-7 over the last 10:26 of the half.

A jumper off the glass by Metcalf was answered by a Lepaio lay-in before MHC scored the next seven points. A Ricker three started the run and pushed the Lion lead to four. A nice feed from Katie Buckner to Metcalf for a reverse lay-in off a back door cut made the score 21-15, and a feed from Espinosa to Cadence Wilmoth for a lay-in capped the run. Buckner's passing provided the Lions with a spark off the bench, as the senior dished out three assists in six first-half minutes.

The Lions put the clamps on defensively during that stretch, holding the Wolves without a field goal for a span of 5:37. Back-to-back buckets by Wilmoth and Espinosa pushed the Lion lead as large as nine. Wilmoth came off the bench to score eight points and grab six rebounds. A runner by Erica Warren in the lane pushed the lead back to nine to make the score 29-20 at the half.

Effective passing by MHC resulted in the Lions assisting on nine of the team's 11 field goals in the half. Mars Hill shot 36.7 percent from the field in the first half (11-of-30), while holding Newberry to a 24.1 percent clip (7-of-29).

A Warren jumper extended the Lion lead to 11, but Newberry was later able to rally with a 12-1 run to take the lead. A lay-in by Lepaio gave the Wolves their first lead of the game, 37-36 with 13:05 to play. After an Espinosa free throw, a lay-in by Devanee Taylor gave the Wolves a two-point lead.

That lead wouldn't last long, as a 7-2 Mars Hill spurt gave the Lions the lead right back. A jumper by Espinosa, a three by Metcalf and a runner by Warren gave MHC a 44-41 lead with 10:53 to play. The Lions extended their lead to as many as 10 on a Booker lay-in to make the score 57-47 with 5:50 to play.

The Wolves wouldn't go quietly however, as Newberry ripped off a 9-0 run to close the Lion lead to one. Seven straight points from Creed cut the score to 57-56 with 1:53 to play. Creed scored 17 of her points in the second half.

Ricker had an answer, as the sophomore hit a big jumper from the elbow to push the Lion lead to 59-56 with 1:24 to play. The two teams traded defensive stops, before Creed scored and drew the foul in the lane to cut the score to 59-58 with 23 seconds left. Creed missed the ensuing free-throw, and after a missed MHC free throw the Lion defense rose to the occasion again to force their final turnover of the evening. Ricker was fouled and hit two free throws with four seconds left, and the Wolves were unable to get a shot off in the closing seconds.

Mars Hill will travel to Anderson for a 2:00 p.m tip-off this Saturday, Feb. 2.