CLINTON, S.C. ? Sophomore guard Amanda Mills (Oregon City, Ore./San Diego Mesa CC) scored 16 second-half points against Liberty as Presbyterian College women's basketball stayed close at the heels of the second-ranked team in the Big South Conference on Saturday evening at the Templeton Center. PC eventually lost 59-49 to the Lady Flames.
Although the Blue Hose never led in the contest, head coach Ronny Fisher's squad narrowed Liberty's lead to one point twice in the first half. After being down by 10 with nine minutes remaining, sophomore point guard Katlin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C./Charlotte Catholic (N.C.)) knocked in a three off a pass by freshman guard Kristen Stevens (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central). Mills followed up with a second trey a minute later to cut the Lady Flames' lead to four points.
Liberty (9-7, 3-0 Big South) floated jumpers to boost its lead to eight points with 3:28 left in the first half before junior forward Lea Smith (Marion, N.C./McDowell) made a layup and Mills sank two free throws to shrink the lead back to four points with 1:29 remaining. Moore brought the Blue Hose within one point after hitting a shot from beyond the arc with 22 seconds left to end the half 20-19.
The Lady Flames' offense ignited as Liberty went on a 15-2 run to start the second half. Mills nailed a three-pointer and a layup to cut Liberty's lead to single digits (37-28) with 12 minutes remaining. The Blue Hose pulled within six points twice before Liberty built the lead back up to 14 points with 3:10 to go.
Fouls by Liberty's Kylee Beecher and Kittery Maine sent Mills and sophomore Chelsea Wright (Atlanta, Ga./Whitefield Academy) to the line for three and two points respectively. Mills sank her fourth trey of the game with 26 seconds remaining to cut the Lady Flames' lead to eight (57-49). Rachel McLeod finished the game with a pair of shots from the line to give Liberty the 10-point victory.
PC (2-12, 0-3 Big South) capitalized on turnovers, scoring 25 points off of 19 Liberty turnovers. The Blue Hose committed just 16 turnovers, tying a season-best mark.
Mills finished the evening with a game-high 21 points, while Moore added 16 points. The team shot 30.8 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from behind the arc.
Defensively, Wright led the team with five rebounds while Smith made two blocks against Liberty, who averaged three inches taller than PC's tallest player.
The Blue Hose retain their homecourt advantage when they host the Highlanders of Radford on Monday at 7 p.m.
