CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team
staged a furious comeback bid at the end of its Tuesday night non-conference
contest against SC State at Templeton Center, but the visiting Bulldogs held on
for a 60-55 win.
PC (2-3) pulled to within three after trailing by 14 points
to SC State (2-1) with 4:24 left. Both teams posted nearly identical field goal
percentages, as PC went 44.4 percent from the floor (24-for-54) while the
Bulldogs shot at a 44.2 percent clip (23-for-52).
Three Blue Hose scored in double figures as Mariah Pietrowski (Elizabethton, Tenn.) scored a game-high 14 points, Karlee Taylor (Asheville,
N.C.) chipped in 13 and Shonda Burnside (Gray Court, S.C.) poured in 12.
Pietrowski and Burnside each grabbed seven rebounds and Dria David
(Lawrenceville, Ga.) handed out five assists.
SC State's Tiara Knotts paced the Bulldogs with 13 points and five assists.
Midway through the second half, Burnside hit a jumper to cut
the visitors' lead to six and converted a tough basket inside to get it to
within four, but SC State answered with six points in kind to nab a 10-point
lead for the first time at 48-38 with 8:30 to go.
PC looked to narrow the gap as a Taylor trey pulled the Blue
Hose to within 11 shortly with just under four minutes left. The junior
followed the score with another jumper and Devin Fothergill (Somerset, Ky.)
laid one in to get within seven.
SC State milked the shot clock while clinging to the lead. A
three-point attempt found the rim as the shot clock sounded and Sherece Smith
(Clemson, S.C.) drew a foul on the other end to head to the line with exactly two
minutes remaining.
Smith's shots did not find the bottom of the basket but the
PC defense held strong. Burnside then scored inside to make the score 56-51 and
the Blue Hose put the press on.
The Blue Hose could not convert on offense but a Fannie
Goodwin foul put Taylor on the line with 33.8 seconds left, down five points.
Taylor knocked down both free throws to make the score 56-53.
PC fouled and brought Cabriel Duren to the charity stripe.
Duren made both ends of a one-and one before Burnside cleaned up a David miss
and kept SC State's lead at three as the clock showed 21.2 seconds.
The Bulldogs then found Paris Alston on an outlet pass and
the center cashed in, restoring a five-point lead and sealing the result.
The first half hinged on a late Bulldog run. Tied 21-21 with
6:49 remaining in the period, SC State strung together nine straight points to
break the deadlock and build a lead. Chelsea Parker (Asheville, N.C.) broke the
run on a jumper as the half expired, but the points gave SC State enough to take
a 30-23 advantage into halftime.
Taylor led the Blue Hose in the first half with six points
from a pair of three-pointers. PC outrebounded the visitors, 20-13, but lost
the turnover battle after the first 20 minutes, 12 to four.
The Blue Hose break for the Thanksgiving holiday before
battling NC Central in Durham, N.C. on Saturday at 3 p.m.
