MEMPHIS-Visiting Mississippi College used a 19-4 run in the third quarter to pull away from the Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs on their way to a 79-67 win Thursday night at Canale Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The teams traded big runs throughout the first half. The Lady Choctaws (12-11, 9-10 GSC) made the first one, an 11-0 burst that gave them a 16-5 lead on a Kaitlyn Thompson jumper with 2:59 remaining in the first quarter.
• CBU (12-11, 9-10) answered with eight straight to close within 16-13 on a
Courtney Banks (Memphis, Tenn./White Station HS) bucket with 7:51 remaining in the first half.
• MC rebuilt a 10-point lead with a 7-0 burst capped by a Kelley Allen tip-in with 5:33 remaining int he first half.
• The Lady Bucs regained the lead with a 13-0 run capped by a
Sara Owen (Dyersburg, Tenn./Dyer County HS) jumper with 2:29 remaining in the first half.
• The Lady Choctaws took the lead for good with a 7-2 run to close out the first half.
• MC pulled away late in the third quarter, using the 19-4 run over just 4:12 to take a 55-39 lead on a Toni Woods layup wth 1:43 remaining in the third quarter.
• After falling behind by as many as 19 points, the Lady Bucs mounted one more rally, using a 17-5 run to close within 72-65 on a
Samantha Reeves (Somerville, Tenn./Fayette Academy) triple with 1:38 remaining, but they were unable to close the gap any further and MC was 5-of-6 at the free throw line in the final 63 seconds.
KEY STATS:
• Banks scored 18 points with five rebounds.
•
Rachel Lee (Jackson, Tenn./Jackson Christian School) scored 16 with six assists and three steals, making all 11 free throws.
• Despite being limited to 23 minutes by foul trouble, Reeves finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
• The Lady Bucs shot just 33.3 percent (20-of-60) overall, including 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from three-point range. MC shot 44.8 percent (30-of-67) overall, including 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from beyond the arc.
• The Lady Choctaws out-rebounded CBU 42-36, including a 15-13 edge in offensive rebounds. They forced the Lady Bucs into 21 turnovers, CBU's second-highest total of the season, while committing 18.
HEAD COACH SARAH CONDRA'S THOUGHTS:
"I don't have a lot of answers. If I did, we wouldn't be playing as bad as we are right now. I thought going on the road trip last week, we had two great days of preparation. Going on the road trip I felt really confident. At West Florida, we played great defensively and we shot 25 percent from the field. Then on Saturday we played really well offensively, scored 70 and gave up 80. And then tonight we score 67 and give up 79. I don't know. We play well offensively one game and defensively the next. We're just not playing very well right now. I felt like we've had good preparation but it's just not carrying over to games right now."
"We haven't played a full 40-minute game yet. I'd like to see us play a full 40-minute game to see how good we could be. But tonight we didn't play a full game again. We wait until it's too late to start playing."
GSC TOURNAMENT PICTURE:
West Florida remains atop the GSC standings at 15-4. Valdosta State (14-5), Lee (13-6) and West Georgia (12-7) have all clinched berths in the GSC Tournament. North Alabama (11-8) sits in fifth place, and CBU sits in a three-way tie for sixth with Union and Mississippi College, all at 9-10. Delta State is 8-11, followed by Shorter at 7-12.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Lady Bucs hit the road for the final time Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. as they visit Delta State. They return home Thursday night at 5 p.m. when they host Alabama Huntsville.
