Lions Fall at LMU

HARROGATE, TENN.- Mars Hill was unable to overcome a big second half run by Lincoln Memorial as the Lions dropped a 67-65 decision to the Railsplitters in South Atlantic Conference action Wednesday evening at Tex Turner Arena.

An 11-2 run by LMU broke open a two-point game in the second half and proved too much for Mars Hill to overcome. The Lions were led by Ansley Ricker's 17 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Ralissa Nelson led four Railsplitters in double-figures with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Mars Hill fell to 4-15 overall and 1-10 in SAC play. LMU is now 11-10 overall and 4-7 in conference play.

Armeka Booker notched her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds for MHC. Autumn Ward tied a career-high with 11 points, while Taylor Tate came off the bench to score a career-high seven points. Mars Hill shot 26-of-66 from the field (39.4 percent).

Kelsey Bradford scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists for LMU. MaRanda Boddie and Kalasia Green added 10 points apiece. LMU shot 46.2 percent overall (24-of-52).

After Ralissa Nelson hit a pair of threes to open the scoring at 6-0 in favor of LMU, the Lions raced back with a 14-3 run to take a 14-9 lead with 14:57 to play in the first half. Ricker and Booker scored back-to-back buckets before a Ward three gave the Lions their first lead. Five straight from Erica Warren and a layup by Ricker helped push the MHC lead to five.

The Railsplitters responded with 13 straight points to open up an eight-point lead. Bradford led the way with five points, and LMU hit two three-pointers during the run. A jumper by MaRanda Boddie in the paint gave LMU their largest lead of the half at 22-14 with 11:50 to play. Their lead would fluctuate between four and seven the rest of the half.

Mars Hill shot 41.3 percent overall in the first half (13-of-31). The Railsplitters hit 50 percent of their field goal attempts (13-of-26), including 5-of-11 from long range (45.5 percent).

Six straight points to start the second half for MHC tied the score at 37-37. Four points by Booker and a bucket by Kelsey Espinosa tied the score with 16:47 to play. Five straight points by the Railsplitters restored their lead to 42-37.

The Lions were able to rally to close the deficit back to two at 45-43 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Booker, but the Railsplitters responded with the deciding 11-2 run. A bucket by Green and a three by Ralissa Nelson pushed the LMU lead to seven, before a Warren bucket cut the deficit back to five. Four straight by Elliotte Roberts and a bucket by Bradford pushed the LMU lead to 56-45 with 8:08 to play.

MHC made a late run to pull within three on an old-fashioned three-point play by Ward to cut the score to 65-62 with 50 seconds left. Bradford answered with a jumper to push the LMU lead to five, before Tate hit a three with two seconds left for the final 67-65 margin.

Mars Hill will host Brevard this Saturday, Feb. 9 in the annual "Play 4Kay" game. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m. in Stanford Arena. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of those fighting and those who have survived women's cancers.