Women's Basketball Loses Heart Breaker to Young Harris
The Lions lost a heart breaker at the buzzer 61-60 to Young Harris in women’s basketball action Wednesday night in Stanford Arena. Ansley Ricker entered Mars Hill’s 1,000-point club during the contest
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions lost a heart breaker at the buzzer 61-60 to Young Harris in women's basketball action Wednesday night in Stanford Arena. Ansley Ricker entered Mars Hill's 1,000-point club during the contest. Mars Hill fell to 1-5 overall while Young Harris improved to 4-2 on the season.
Ricker, a senior from Greeneville, Tenn., led the Lions with 17 points. She was 4-8 from the field, 3-3 from behind the arc and a perfect 6-6 at the foul line. She entered the game with 999 career points. She joins 25 former Lion women's basketball players in the school's 1,000-point club. Cadence Wilmoth followed Ricker with 15 points and five rebounds. As a team, MHU hit 44.7% (21-47) from the field, 55.6% (5-9) from 3-point range and 50% (13-26) at the free throw line.
Meredith Tarver led all scorers with 24 points to pace YHC. Amanda Okodugha added six points and the same number of rebounds. YHC connected on 40.2% (25-62), 14.3% (2-14) from 3-point range and 52.9% (9-17) from the foul line. YHC won the battle of the boards, 41-33. The teams combined for 46 turnovers in the contest.
Mars Hill had a four-point lead on three occasions in the first quarter and led 13-9 heading into the second period. The Lions went on a 14-8 run to start the second quarter and lead by 10 points (27-17) with 3:58 left in the second frame after Brenda Kamga scored inside. A short range jumper by Okodugha with eight seconds left before halftime sent the teams into the locker room with the score 29-23 in favor of the hosts.
The Lions led the entire third stanza. Mars Hill took a 40-30 advantage with 3:31 on the clock after Ricker made to shots at the charity stripe. YHC outscored Mars Hill 7-2 to close the gap to five points (42-37) to close out the third quarter.
After leading by eight points thanks to a 3-pointer by Ricker with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter, YHC went on a 13-5 run to knot the game at 50-all at the 6:06 mark. The Lions answered with a 10-4 run of their own to lead by six points (60-54) with 3:03 left in regulation. YHC then scored six unanswered points to tie the game for the fourth time (60-60) with eight ticks left. The Lions were fouled on their next possession but unfortunately could not convert at the foul line and YHC regained the ball with 30 seconds left in the game. Holding the ball for the final shot of regulation, Briana Bell's 3-point attempt with one second left on the clock missed its mark but she was fouled on the play and made the first of three free throws to give YHC a 61-60 victory.
Mars Hill will host SAC rival Wingate on Saturday in Stanford Arena. Tip-off is set for a 2 p.m. start.