WINGATE, N.C.—The Lady Trojan basketball team of Anderson University (8-11, 4-9) had a strong lead 39-29 at halftime in its game with Wingate (13-6, 8-5 SAC) January 28, but a 40-29 second half performance by Wingate proved to be the final blow. Anderson lost 69-68.
“Our ladies fought hard enough to win, but I made poor decisions down the stretch,” head coach Jonathon Barbaree said.
The Lady Trojans were 26-52 from the field and 10-20 from three, their second-highest total of made three-pointers this season. They went 6-11 at the line. Wingate had the edge on the boards with 34 to Anderson’s 29.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth effort as the lead changed six times. The score was in Anderson’s favor 19-15 at the buzzer. The Lady Trojans kept the lead to the halftime point. Anderson had a 15-point lead at the eight-minute mark of the third, but found themselves ahead by only five at the third quarter buzzer 57-52.
Anderson lost the lead at 5:34 left in the game 61-59. Wingate would keep the lead and hold off Anderson.
Ciara Harris led the Trojans with 16 points on 6-14 shooting. She added three rebounds and four steals. Kyla Cain dropped 15 points on 6-10 shooting with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Freshman Ashley Hill scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals. Senior Ashlyn Sheridan was the last Trojan in double digits with 11 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Sophomore Jaida Brooks had seven points and a team-high seven assists. Rounding out the scoring for Anderson was Alana Eagle with five points and Jayla Cal with two points.
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NGU Falls Short against Converse
SPARTANBURG—North Greenville (8-12,3-8) came really close to a victory over Conference Carolina foe Converse (2-16,1-9) in Spartanburg January 29. Converse won the game 67-61.
Playing from behind from the opening tipoff, the Lady Trailblazers battled back to get within three points 45-42 as the final seconds ticked off in the third quarter. They cut the lead to two points 49-47 with 6:48, and one point 52-51 at 4:20. However, they were outscored 15-10 the last four minutes and Converse got the victory.
Converse led 19-6 after one quarter, 29-22 at halftime and 45-42. The Lady Trailblazer offense was 33 percent (24-for-71) from field and 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from the free throw line.
NGU was led by Quinn Johnston, who scored 14 points, had three rebounds, two assists, and two steals Janiya Williams posted 12 points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Kayla Gaston recorded 9 points and 6 rebounds. Jayla Cook also posted nine points. She had five rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Jasia got on the boards with five points while Maliyah Mason scored four points.
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High Point Bests Charleston Southern 87-66
CHARLESTON—High Point (19-2,8-0) jumped out to a big lead 26-9 at the end of one quarter against Charleston Southern (6-15,4-4) January 28, and Charleston played from behind the rest of the way. High Point won the contest 87-66.
Charleston Southern finished the night shooting 32.0 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from three-point range. The Buccaneers totaled 41 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive glass, and matched High Point with 15 bench points. High Point shot 46.3 percent overall and knocked down 14 three-pointers, using consistent perimeter shooting to maintain control throughout the contest.
Tyonna Bailey led Charleston with 25 points. Caelan Ellis had 10 points and Asha Sra had nine points.