Lions Knock Off Newberry, 65-56
The Lions knocked off visiting Newberry College 65-56 Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action at Stanford Arena.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions knocked off visiting Newberry College 65-56 Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action at Stanford Arena. Mars Hill improved to 7-17 overall and 6-14 in the SAC. The Wolves fell to 15-9 overall, 11-9 in the league.
Ansley Ricker led all scorers with 27 points connecting on 9-14 shots from the floor, 3-4 from behind the arc. She was also a perfect 6-6 at the charity stripe and pulled down six rebounds. Kelsey Espinosa followed with 12 points and nine rebounds hitting 50% (6-12) of her attempts. The Lions out rebounded the Wolves, 45-36, scored 38 points in the paint and 12 off the break.
Tasia Holdorf led the Wolves with 25 points and six boards followed by Haylee Lepaio with a double-double scoring 18 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Newberry received 28 points from their bench.
A jump shot in the paint by Haylee Lepaio with 18:29 left in the first half gave the Wolves a 2-0 advantage. Ricker answered with a 3-pointer 11 seconds later on the ensuing possession and the Lions would never trail again. MHU scored seven unanswered points and led 10-2 with 15:57 on the clock after Katie Stevens hit a pair of foul shots. The Wolves answered going on a 10-5 run to cut the Lions' lead to just three points (15-12) with 10:19 left in the first period after Lepaio hit a shot inside. The Lions closed out the first frame out scoring Newberry 18-5 to take a 33-17 advantage into the locker room at the intermission.
Mars Hill maintained a double-digit lead for the first 11 minutes of the second half until an old-fashioned three-point play by Holdorf brought the Wolves within eight points (41-33) of the Lions. After two missed shots and a turnover by the Lions, Lepaio hit a layup to trim the deficit to 41-35 at the 11:12 mark. A layup by Ricker and four points from Genice Lane pushed the Lions' lead back to double figures (47-35) with 8:34 left to play. Over the next seven minutes, Newberry outscored the Lions 19-13 to cut the lead down to six points (1:09) after Holdorf hit a shot in the lane. The Wolves were forced to foul and the Lions sank 5-6 attempts at the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win.
Mars Hill will play at SAC rival Brevard College on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
