Plethora Of Scoring Leads Women's Basketball To Win At Brevard

BREVARD, N.C. – A balanced attack by the Mars Hill women's basketball team led them to a South Atlantic Conference win over Brevard College on Monday, February 01 at Boshamer Gymnasium. The Lions placed all five starters in double-figures as they were able to calm the storm with an 84-75 win. MHU improves to 9-9 overall and 8-5 in conference while BC falls to 1-16, 0-13.

Paige Chavis led the way offensively, putting in a game-high 24 points. Genice Lane collected her second double-double of the season with 13 points to go along with 15 boards. Kelsey Espinosa just missed the double-double plateau, finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds. Cadence Wilmoth and Ansley Ricker chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively.

MHU shot an impressive 51.8% from the field while holding Brevard to 39.4%. The Lions also held the advantage in rebounds (40-36) and points in the paint (40-34).

Madison Lenox paced the Tornado with a team high 23 points and Whitney DeMoss posted 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Following a tough loss just 48 hours ago, the Lions looked to set the tone early. However, it was the Tornado that came out the aggressor, jumping out to a quick 9-6 lead following a pair of free throws from Shelby Wolfe at the 5:44 mark of the first period.

Brevard continued to shoot the ball well, climbing out to a 28-17 lead after an offensive put back by DeMoss. Ricker knocked down a three at the top of the key to cut into the lead, but DeMoss beat the first quarter horn to give the home team a 10-point lead at 30-20 after one.

A back-and-forth affair ensued to start the second quarter as neither team could gain a definitive advantage, splitting the initial 18 points heading into the media timeout. The Lions tried their best to claw back into the contest as Wilmoth began to dominate the post area, scoring five quick points to narrow the deficit to 44-41 with just under two minutes remaining. The Lions went into the break trailing 49-45.

Baskets were hard to come by following the intermission as the two teams combined for only 15 points over the first five minutes of the third. Following the under-five media timeout, Ricker hit Chavis in stride with a beautiful outlet pass for an easy layup and the Lions' first lead, 56-55, since the nine-minute mark of the first quarter. The Blue and Gold kept the momentum and the lead, 62-58, heading into the final stanza.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Lions, building their biggest lead at 72-60 with 4:56 remaining in regulation. BC attempted to get back in the contest with five quick points to cut the gap to 72-65, but a beautiful Lane-Espinosa hookup followed by a steal and layup from Chavis pushed the lead back to double-digits. Mars Hill connected at the charity stripe down the stretch and pulled out a gutsy 84-75 win.

The Lions will return to action on Wednesday, February 4 as they welcome the Eagles of Carson-Newman to Stanford Arena for a pivotal South Atlantic Conference matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.