Mars Hill Overpowers Lady Railsplitters

Courtesy of Mars Hill College

Box Score

MARS HILL, N.C. - Mars Hill used a strong rebounding effort to defeat Lincoln Memorial 89-75 Saturday afternoon inside Stanford Arena. The Lady Lions improve to 10-8 overall, 3-4 in the SAC. The Lady Railsplitters drop to 6-12 overall, 1-7 in the SAC.

After Stephanie Wagner (Elkhart, Ind.) opened the game with a three pointer for Lincoln Memorial, Mars Hill went on a 10-0 run and held the Railsplitters scoreless for a stretch of 3:14 until the 16:00 mark in the first half.

The Lady Lions grabbed their first double-digit lead of the game, 16-6, off a free throw by Danielle Francis (Bamberg, S.C.) with 13:57 left in the half. Mars Hill was on fire from the field, hitting 7-11 shots, good for a 63.6% clip. Lincoln Memorial hit only 3-8 field goals (37.5%).

The Lady Railsplitters responded with a 10-0 run and tied the game at 16-all off a three-point bucket by Kara Harris (Alcoa, Tenn.) at the 9:53 point.

The Lady Lions came back with a 11-4 run of their own and took a 27-20 lead at the 6:05 mark off a steal and layup by Shamia Terry (Greenville, S.C.). Sarah Harrison (Sneedville, Tenn.) cut the deficit to six points, 32-26, at the 4:06 point in the first half with a shot from behind the arc, but Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) responded on the next possession for Mars Hill with a three of her own.

Mars Hill grabbed its largest lead of the half, 43-30, off a layup by Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.) and carried that score into halftime.

In the first half, the Lady Lions shot 51.4% (18-35) from the field but were only 3-12 from behind the arc. The Lady Railsplitters hit 47.6% (10-21) from the field and were 7-12 from three-point range. Mars Hill outscored Lincoln Memorial 20-2 in the paint and 14-2 off second chance points. The Lady Lions forced six steals and outrebounded the Lady Railsplitters 22-12 overall and 10-1 on the offensive glass.

Mars Hill opened the second half strong and its largest lead of the game, 51-34, off an old-fashioned three-point play by Deal with 17:39 left in the game.

Dayshalee Salaman (Carolina, Puerto Rico) scored 10 straight points for Lincoln Memorial to cut Mars Hill's lead to 56-44 with 12:50 left in the game. The Lady Railsplitters cut the deficit to single digits, 58-49, off a three-pointer by Wagner at the 11:19 mark, but an old-fashioned three-point play by Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) stretched the Lady Lions advantage back to 63-51 with 9:47 left in the game.

Again Lincoln Memorial cut Mars Hill's lead to single digits, 63-56, off a three-point trey by Amberly O'Dell (Argos, Ind.), but Deal got an offensive rebound and putback to give the Lady Lions another double-digit advantage, 67-56, at the 7:18 mark.

Whitney Vannoy (Harrogate, Tenn.) scored eight straight points for the Lady Railsplitters, including two three-pointers, to trim the score to 71-67 at the 4:50 mark, but an Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) three-pointer from the corner pushed Mars Hill's advantage to 12 points, 78-67, with 3:36 left in the game. Lincoln Memorial would get no closer than seven points, 82-75, for the rest of the game.

Terry led six Mars Hill players in double-figure scoring with 17 points. She also recorded a team-high 13 rebounds and four steals. Young had 16 points and nine assists. Blanford posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Deal had 14 points and nine rebounds. Okunowo netted 13 points. Bria Smith chipped in 10 points for the Lady Lions.

Wagner poured in a game-high 18 points for Lincoln Memorial. Salaman recorded 17 points and six assists.

The Lady Lions outscored the Lady Railsplitters 40-22 in the paint and 20-4 off second chance points.

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