Young powers Women’s Basketball over Eagles
Mars Hill tied for first place in SAC standings
MARS HILL, N.C. - Brittini Young scored a season-high 28 points as the Mars Hill women's basketball team defeated Carson-Newman 84-77 inside Stanford Arena. The Lions improve to 12-3 overall, 5-2 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Lady Eagles fall to 5-11 overall, 1-5 in league play. With the win, Mars Hill also is tied for first place in the conference standings.
Young hit four three-pointers in the contest and was 8-9 from the free throw line. Kristen Metcalf recorded 12 points on four treys. Taylor Deal added 11 points, while Margaret Harvey pulled down 10 rebounds.
Mandy Mendenhall scored a game-high 29 points for Carson-Newman. Zoriah Williams had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
With the score tied at nine, Mars Hill went on a 13-1 run. Back-to-back shots from behind the arc by Harvey and Metcalf made the score 22-10 at the 11:42 mark in the first half. The Lions led by as many as 14 points in the first period and held the upper hand, 48-44, at halftime.
A layup by Whitney Moody gave the Lady Eagles a five-point advantage, 55-50, with 15:40 left in the game, but the Lions responded with a 17-2 spurt. A layup by Jessica Jones gave Mars Hill a 67-57 lead at the 11:40 mark.
The Lions led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but Carson-Newman whittled the deficit to two points with 1:11 remaining in the game off two made free throws by Mendenhall. However, a layup by Deal on the next possession made it a two-score game, and the Lady Eagles would not get any closer.
For the second straight game, Mars Hill made 11 three-pointers (11-24), while Carson-Newman was 6-20 from distance. The Lady Eagles outrebounded the Lions 43-38.
Mars Hill will travel to Tusculum on Saturday, January 22, with at least a share of first place in the conference standings on the line. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.