Cold-Shooting Lions Fall to Lenoir-Rhyne
HICKORY, N.C.-- The Mars Hill women's basketball team was unable to overcome cold shooting as the Lions dropped a 61-47 decision to Lenoir-Rhyne in South Atlantic Conference action Wednesday evening at Shuford Gymnasium.
The Bears held the Lions to 30.6 percent shooting on the evening (14-of-46). Kelsey Espinosa led Mars Hill with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Krystal Patton led L-R with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Mars Hill fell to 6-19 overall and 3-14 in SAC play. Lenoir-Rhyne is now 18-7 overall and 13-4 in conference play.
Autumn Ward added eight points and five rebounds for MHC. Kristen Metcalf came off the bench to score eight points and dish out three assists.
Jazmine Charles scored 10 points and dished out four assists for Lenoir-Rhyne. Nneka Awuruonye added eight points. The Bears shot 40.4 percent overall (21-of-52).
L-R held Mars Hill without a field goal for nearly nine minutes as the Bears built an 11-4 lead midway through the first half. A layup by Espinosa with 10:44 remaining broke the scoring drought for the Lions, and Taylor Tate followed with a three to cut the score to 11-9 with 10:08 to play.
Nine straight points over the next four minutes by the Bears pushed their lead to 22-9 with 5:38 to play. Four different L-R players scored during the run. The Lions were able to cut the score to 24-18 at the half on a Ward jumper as time expired.
The Lions got as close as 27-22 on a Metcalf layup with 16:52 to play in the second half. L-R responded however with a 12-4 run. Six different Bears scored during that stretch, which pushed the L-R lead to 13 with 11:24 to play.
That run effectively put the game out of reach. The Bears would lead by as much as 15, with the Lions getting no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Mars Hill will conclude the regular season when they host Anderson this Saturday, Mar. 2 at 2:00 p.m. The Lions will honor seniors Erica Warren, Katie Buckner and Kristen Metcalf as they play the final home game of their MHC careers.
