Mars Hill falls to Wingate
The Mars Hill Lions women’s basketball team lost to Wingate in their second and final matchup of the season by a score of 102-42 in Stanford Arena Saturday afternoon.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill Lions women's basketball team lost to Wingate in their second and final matchup of the season by a score of 102-42 in Stanford Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Lions scored the opening basket of the contest, but the Bulldogs countered with 14 unanswered points. A foul on Taylor Helms with less than five minutes left in the frame sent Jewel Walston to the line, converting both of her free throws to narrow the lead back down to 10 points. In the second half of the period, Wingate outscored the Lions 13-10 with Marta Miscenko leading the way, scoring 10 points.
Entering the second stanza, the Lions trailed 27-14 and the deficit increased. Wingate took nine of the first 11 points in the first four minutes, extending their lead to 20 points. Caroline Averette had four of the nine points. A persistent Bulldog offense furthered the lead to 54-22 entering the half.
Gabby Gianikos led the Lions with seven points in the half, followed by Cierra Hampton's six. Going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, Wingate's Morgan Simmons led the Bulldogs with 12 points. Three other Bulldogs ended the half in double-figures: Zasha Barrett (11), Miscenko (10) and Averette (10).
In a similarly played period as the second, the Bulldogs outscored Mars Hill 27-7 in the third frame. Barrett added seven points to her total for 18, followed by Miscenko's four to give her 14 on the day. Mariah Johnson led the Lions with three points.
The fourth period saw Wingate come away with the 21-13 advantage, led by Barrett and Morgan Simmons with four and six points, respectively. Gianikos added three points to her totals and Johnson's two put her in double-figures for the 10th time this season and sixth game straight.
Barrett ended the contest with a career-high 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds followed by Simmons, who also had a career-high 18 points. Helms and Courtney Robinson each had six assists.
Gianikos led the Lions with 12 points on the afternoon. Hampton, Johnson and Valeriya Pokrovskaya each collected four rebounds.
Wingate dominated down low, scoring 44 points in the paint and capitalized off of Mars Hill turnovers, outscoring Mars Hill 27-5 in that regard. A deep Bulldog bench put up 67 points compared to Mars Hill's eight.
The Lions fall to 1-18 (0-11 SAC) while Wingate improves to 14-3 (8-2 SAC).
Mars Hill returns to action on Wednesday, January 24 versus Carson-Newman. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
