Women's Basketball Fights Off Cobras

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Mars Hill University women's basketball team won its second-consecutive South Atlantic Conference matchup on Saturday, January 09 as the Lions defeated Coker College by a final of 82-71. MHU improves its record to 5-8 overall and 4-4 within league play while Coker falls to 6-8 and 5-3.

Cadence Wilmoth turned in another stellar performance as she paced the Lions with a game-high 27 points. Ansley Ricker pitched in 21 to go along with a season-high five steals. Kelsey Espinosa and Genice Lane both scored in double-figures as well chipping in 15 and 11, respectively. Espinosa also added a team-high nine rebounds.

Jazz Green and Terrika Foster supplied all the offense for the Cobras as they scored 26 and 25 points, respectively.

Mars Hill outshot Coker 48.4% to 47.3%. The Cobras were able to capture the rebounding advantage 38-30, but the Lions forced 29 turnovers and dominated points off turnovers 34-19.

Coming off a key conference win just a few days ago the Lions carried that momentum into the first quarter of this afternoon's matchup, jumping out to a quick 10-2 lead after a layup by Ansley Ricker. The Lions used a stout defense to transition into easy baskets on the offensive end of the court, forcing seven first quarter turnovers.

Wilmoth was the catalyst for the MHU offense early on as she poured in 12 points in the opening frame of the contest. MHU went ahead 22-8 with seconds left in the first after Lane split a pair of free throws. Coker's Jazz Green capped the scoring in the first with a layup off the window with one second remaining.

With a sense of urgency the Cobras came out to start the second with a steady 10-0 run to cut the Lion lead to 22-20 with 7:31 remaining in the half. Paige Chavis was able to quieten the crowd for a moment with a deep three from the left wing. A layup from Terrika Foster knotted the match at 25-all with less than five minutes remaining before the intermission. Following a layup from Sydney Comer, Coker outscored the Lions 8-4 the rest of the way to take a 33-31 lead into the break.

Coker was able to cushion its lead to 41-35 with 7:08 left in quarter number three, but a Ricker three just a minute later cut the lead in half. A seesaw battle would be the story of the remainder of the third period as each team traded baskets for five minutes.

With 1:18 left, Wilmoth forced her way to the basket and tallied an old-fashioned three-point play to pull the Lions even at 52. Coker pressed ahead once more with a pair of free throws, but Ricker collected the hoop and harm to give MHU its first lead, 55-54, since the 4:29 mark of the second quarter. Mars Hill carried a 58-56 lead into the fourth.

After a pair of free throws by Coker, Kelly Espinosa went on a personal 6-0 run to begin the final frame to extend the MHU lead to 64-58 with eight minutes to go. However, Coker would not go quietly as it battled back with a 13-6 run to pull to once again take the lead 71-70 late in the fourth. Back-to-back layups from Lane and Wilmoth followed by a clutch bomb from Ricker fueled a 7-0 spurt for the Lions that staked them to a 77-71 lead with only two minutes left.

From that point it was all academic as Mars Hill held on for its second-consecutive win and pulled to .500 within league play at 4-4.

The Lions will continue their two-game road swing as they head to Greenville, Tenn. on Wednesday, January 13 to face Tusculum at Pioneer Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.