Lions dropped by Anderson on the road

ANDERSON, S.C. – The Mars Hill women's basketball team dropped their 15^th straight contest in a 109-42 loss to Anderson Wednesday evening. Mariah Johnson accounted for half of the Lion offense.

The first period saw a high scoring affair for both teams as Anderson held a 28-21 lead going into the second frame. After several lead changes throughout, the Lions and Trojans found themselves tied at 16 with under two minutes remaining. Neither team had a lead larger than three points until the Trojans' Ace Easter hit a 3-pointer to take a 19-16 edge. Johnson answered with two free throw makes for her 11^th point of the frame. Easter would hit another three to go up 22-18, followed by a made jumper Kaylee Koerperich to extend the lead to six. Johnson closed out the period with a 3-pointer for her 14^th point of the game.

Mars Hill saw its offense run dry for the remaining 30 minutes. At the start of the second period, Anderson went on a 9-2 run to blow the doors open and ignite their offense. Led by Alexis Dillard's 10 points, the Trojans would outscore the Lions 29-8 in the second frame, shooting 58.8 percent from the field. The Lions went 3-of-14 in the period.

Entering halftime, the Lions trailed 53-29 and their offensive woes continued.

For the remaining 20 minutes, the Trojans dominated the contest putting up 56 points compared to the Lions' 13 points. Alexy Mollenhauer put up nine points in the third period and was matched by teammate Jasmine Raynor in the fourth. They finished with 16 and nine points, respectively.

The Trojans saw four players in double-figures, led by Ace Easter with 19 points. Mollenhauer and Dillard each had 16 with Dillard pulling down 10 rebounds for the double-double. Madison Baggett racked up six assists.

Johnson went 6-of-22 from the floor for 21 points. Shayla Smith chipped in 11 points while collecting a team-high eight rebounds.

Mars Hill falls to 1-16 (0-9 SAC) while Anderson improves to 11-5 (5-3 SAC).

The Lions wrap up their road trip with a 2 p.m. contest against Catawba on Saturday, January 13.