Mars Hill Holds On for Victory Over Queens
The Mars Hill women’s basketball team earned their second consecutive victory with a 67-64 triumph over Queens in Stanford Arena on Saturday.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill women's basketball team earned their second consecutive victory with a 67-64 triumph over Queens in Stanford Arena on Saturday. With the win, Mars Hill improves to 6-16 on the season and 5-12 in the conference, while Queens falls to 5-16 and 4-13 in the league.
Mars Hill had four players finish in double figures, led by Ansley Ricker's 14 points. Cadence Wilmoth and Paige Chavis each scored 13 points, with Kelsey Espinosa adding 11 points. Espinosa pulled down a team high nine rebounds.
Queens received a game-high 35 points and 15 rebounds from Shonice Pettaway in the loss. Abby Pettit contributed 10 points for the Royals.
The Lions got on the board first with a Katie Stevens layup before Pettaway sank a 3-pointer to give Queens a 3-2 advantage just over a minute into the game. Mars Hill didn't trail for the rest of the game, taking an 11-3 lead with 12:46 to go in the half. The Lions enjoyed a 12 point advantage, 28-16, with 4:32 remaining and took a 33-22 lead into halftime.
Mars Hill opened up a game-high 16 point lead, 40-24, with 18:06 to play before Queens cut the lead to six points, 46-40, with 9:52 to play. The Lions extended their lead to 11, 51-40, before the visitors went on a 9-2 run that cut the Mars Hill lead to 53-49 with just under six minutes remaining. Mars Hill pushed the lead to eight, 57-49, with 4:49 left before Queens made a final charge. The Royals trimmed the Lion lead to three, 60-57, after Pettaway sank three free throws after being fouled with 3:32 left. Mars Hill held a four point lead, 64-60 with just under two minutes to play before Pettaway brought the Royals to within a point, 65-64, with 1:15 left. A Chavis layup gave Mars Hill a 67-64 lead with 55 seconds to go. Micha Cox's game-tying 3-point shot with six seconds left bounced off the rim, with Chavis pulling down the rebound to seal the Lion win.
Mars Hill will travel to Anderson on Monday night for a 6 p.m. contest.
