CLINTON, S.C. -Presbyterian
College women's basketball rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to down
Winthrop for the first time in school history, 48-43. The win gives the Blue
Hose a two-game winning streak, their first streak since November of 2006. PC
improves to 4-17 on the season and 3-6 in the Big South while Winthrop falls to
8-14 and 3-6 in the league.
Freshman Dria David paced PC in scoring and rebounding with
12 points and five boards. The Eagles were lifted by a strong performance by
Shanice Cole who poured in 21 points and grabbed five rebounds. The win atoned
for PC's 57-40 defeat to the Eagles earlier this year and ends a 10-game losing
skid to Winthrop.
The Eagles were hot out of the gate, running out to an 8-0
lead at the first media timeout. On the other hand, PC was cold in the first
half, making only 3-of-19 from the field in the opening stanza and going
0-for-10 from downtown.
PC clawed back to cut the lead to as few as six off a basket
from freshman Shonda Burnside. Her bucket cut the lead to 12-6 at 8:17 and was
PC's last field goal in the first half. The Blue Hose made the halftime score
22-10 off a pair of free throws from Mariah Pietrowski and Chelsea Wright.
Head Coach Ronny Fisher's halftime team talk did wonders as
the Blue Hose came out of the locker room and cut the 12-point margin in half
before the first media timeout. PC took its first lead at the 12:21 mark when
David's jumper put the Blue Hose up 25-24.
The Eagles took the lead back to six at the 8:36 mark but
that was answered as PC made it a one-point game at the final media timeout. Another
quick 4-0 run gave Winthrop a five-point margin as late as 2:10, but PC
outscored Winthrop 11-3 over the final 2:09 to earn the win.
The dagger came as Amanda Mills drained her third trey of
the night to give PC a lead it would not relinquish at 42-41.
The biggest turnaround in the stats can be found in
turnovers as PC gave the ball away 16 times in the first half, only two fewer
than their total from Monday night's Coastal Carolina game. On the other hand,
PC tallied just six second-half turnovers to close the game with 22.
The Blue Hose will go out of the Big South for their next
game against Allen on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The game is designated as the
WBCA Pink Zone Game to raise money for breast cancer research.
