Tornados Use Late Run to Tame Lions

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill women's basketball team lost to Brevard 86-74 in South Atlantic Conference play in Stanford Arena on Wednesday night. Brevard improves to 6-13 overall and 5-10 in league play, while Mars Hill drops to 4-15 overall and 3-12 in the conference.

Kelsey Espinosa led the Lions with 22 points. Ansley Ricker contributed 17 points, while Genice Lane finished with 11 points.

Brevard was led by Katie Williams' 28 points, with Madison Lenox and Shelby Wolfe scoring 21 and 20 points respectively.

Autumn Ward gave Mars Hill a 2-0 lead just over 90 seconds into the game and the Lions held a slim 6-5 advantage at the first media timeout. A Wolfe layup gave Brevard a 7-6 lead with 14:22 to play before Chavis gave the Lions a one point advantage 10 seconds later. The Tornados opened up a six point lead, 16-10, with 9:44 to play before the Lions went on an 11-4 run to claim a 21-20 lead with 5:55 to go. Brevard reclaimed the lead on a Wolfe layup on their next possession and took a 31-30 lead to halftime.

Mars Hill tied the contest at 32 after an Espinosa bucket 30 seconds into the second half and took the lead on a Ricker layup with 18:53 to play. The teams traded the lead three times in 30 seconds before Brevard opened up a 46-41 lead with 11:05 to play. Brevard enjoyed a seven point lead, 51-44, with 10:13 remaining before the Lions went on an 8-0 run to grab a 52-51 lead with 8:01 to play.

The next five minutes featured four lead changes and five ties before Brevard pushed its lead to six, 68-62, with just over three minutes to play. Mars Hill mounted a charge, cutting the Tornado lead to 68-66 with 2:17 remaining. The Lions would get no closer as Brevard outscored Mars Hill 18-8 to wrap up the win.

Mars Hill racked up a season high 27 fouls, with Brevard being whistled for 22 infractions. The Tornados shot 85 percent (34-40) from the charity stripe, while the Lions shot 81.5 percent from the free throw line (22-27). Brevard went 8-for-21 behind the three point line for the night, while Mars Hill went 4 of 20.

Mars Hill hits the road on Saturday, visiting Coker for a 2 p.m. start.