LYNCHBURG, Va. ? Presbyterian College women's basketball suffered a 71-33 loss to Liberty on Monday evening at the Vines Center. The game, which was originally scheduled for 7 p.m., was moved up two hours earlier due to inclement weather in Lynchburg.
Sophomore guard Amanda Mills (Oregon City, Ore./San Diego Mesa CC) led the Blue Hose in scoring with 13 points for her 17th game in double figures. Her three baskets from beyond the arc boosted her season total to 66 treys, giving her sole possession of fifth place on PC's all-time single-season three-point field goal list.
Sophomore point guard Katlin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C./Charlotte Catholic (N.C.)) also registered double digits against the Lady Flames, tallying 11 points and five assists for PC. Moore has scored 10 or more points in 19 games this season.
The Lady Flames (20-7, 14-0 Big South), who clinched the regular season title on Feb. 23, led the entire 60 minutes, shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from three-point range. Liberty held the Blue Hose to 27.7 percent from the floor. Mills made three of PC's five baskets from the perimeter.
Sophomore Chelsea Wright (Atlanta, Ga./Whitefield Academy) pulled down seven boards to lead PC on the glass. The Blue Hose totaled 22 rebounds against the Lady Flames, eight more than in their previous meeting this season.
Junior forward Lea Smith (Marion, N.C./McDowell) tied her career high of four steals. Moore pick pocketed the Lady Flames three times while Wright had two steals for a team total of 10 to Liberty's 13. The Blue Hose had just two more turnovers (23) than Liberty.
After Moore sank a three-pointer to pull the Blue Hose within one point three minutes into the game, Liberty went on a 11-point tear to establish a 15-3 lead with 13:09 remaining in the first half. Freshman Kristen Stevens (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) punctuated the first half with a trey with 28 seconds left on the clock but the Lady Flames went into the locker room with a 41-11 lead.
The second half didn't go much better for PC as Liberty's Kittery Maine drilled a jumper to stretch the Lady Flames' lead to 44 points with 2:48 left to play. The Blue Hose whittled down the lead to 38, off jumpers by Smith and Wright and a three-pointer by Mills.
PC (4-23, 1-13 Big South) returns home to the Templeton Center for the final two games of the 2008-09 season. The Blue Hose will play host to Charleston Southern on Friday at 5 p.m.
