Royals Defeat Women's Basketball

MARS HILL, N.C. - Queens shot a season-high 52.9 percent as the Royals defeated Mars Hill 66-53 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action in Stanford Arena on Saturday. Queens improves to 3-8 overall and 1-5 in league play while Mars Hill falls to 4-7 and 2-4. 

Genice Lane led Mars Hill with 12 points, followed by 10 points each from Paige Chavis and Camille Glymph. Lane led the Lions with nine rebounds.

Carmen Richardson and Lacey Singletary scored 22 points each to lead Queens. Karleasha Thompson and McKell Oliverio scored 10 points each. Abby Pettit had a game-high 12 rebounds for the Royals.

After missing their first 11 shots to start the game, the Lions went on a 13-2 run to take a 13-5 lead with 11:34 to play in the opening half. The Royals answered with a 12-4 run, tying the contest at 17 with 5:35 remaining before a Richardson jumper gave the visitors a 19-17 lead. Queens led by four, 25-21, before Glymph sank a 3-pointer with 92 seconds remaining for a 27-all tie. The Royals finished the half on a 5-0 run for a 32-37 halftime lead.

The Lions pulled to within a point, 34-33, following a pair of Paige Chavis free throws before the Royals stretched their advantage to 42-35, with just over 15 minutes to play. Chavis again cut the Lion deficit to one, 46-45, with 10:37 remaining.  Queens answered with a Richardson jumper and extended their lead to 10, 57-47, with just under four minutes remaining. Wilmoth sank a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to single digits, 59-47, before the Royals scored on their final four possessions to close out their first league win of the season.

The Royals were 27-for-51 (52.9 percent) from the floor, with the Lions went 22-for-64 (34.4 percent). Queens outrebounded Mars Hill 36-34, with a 28-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. Mars Hill converted 16 Royal turnovers into 16 points, with 15 Lion turnovers resulting in 10 points for the visitors. Queens was 12-for-16 (75 percent) from the free throw line, with the Lions converting six of 11 opportunities (54.5 percent) from the charity stripe.

Mars Hill continues a three-game homestand on Wednesday, hosting Carson-Newman at 6 p.m.