Lions defeat Bears at home, split season series
The Mars Hill women's basketball team (2-11, 2-11 SAC) defeated Lenoir-Rhyne (3-9, 3-9 SAC) Monday night, 75-71, to split the season series.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill women's basketball team (2-11, 2-11 SAC) defeated Lenoir-Rhyne (3-9, 3-9 SAC) Monday night, 75-71, to split the season series.
The Lions led by 19 with just under two minutes remaining before the Bears made their final push. Lenoir-Rhyne scored 17 of the final 19 points of the contest with Ashley Woodroffe netting nine followed by Kennedy Weigt's six. However, the large Lions' held firm as De'Ja Marshall caught the inbounds pass with one second remaining and secured the Lions' second win of the season.
Mars Hill stormed out of the gate, opening on a 9-2 run before the Bears began to claw at the lead all throughout the frame. Closing out the quarter up 16-15, Mars Hill shot just shy of 44 percent from the floor and hit two-of-three three-point attempts with Kyla Daniels and Hannah Chandler hitting their attempts. Daniels led the Lions with five points in the stanza.
The second quarter saw the Lions carry their momentum over, outscoring Lenoir-Rhyne 21-15 and hitting over 53 percent of their shots. Gabby Gianikos hit all three field goal attempts, along with two free throws to net eight points in the quarter. Weight also added eight for the Bears.
An evenly contested third quarter saw both teams shoot over 46 percent from the floor with the Lions narrowly outscoring the Bears, 21-18. Marshall took over for the Lions, netting eight points and collecting five of the team's eight third quarter rebounds. Alexis Pardue added five points in the frame.
Marshall carried over her stellar play, recording another 12 points and six rebounds in the final quarter of action.
Weigt led all players with 26 points from the bench for Lenoir-Rhyne followed by Woodroffe's 12 on the night. Marshall picked up another double-double on the season, scoring 24 and picking up a game-high 15 rebounds. Gianikos added 14 followed by Daniels' 10.
The Lions wrap up their three-game homestand when they take on Tusculum Wednesday, February 10. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
