Photo by Dillard Stephens
CLINTON, S.C. – Trailing by two with 5:42 to play on
Thursday night, the Presbyterian College women's basketball team closed its
Thursday night matchup against Longwood on a 20-9 run to move to 5-0 in the Big
South Conference, 71-62.
PC improves to 10-6 and 5-0 in Big South play while Longwood
falls to 6-9 overall and 3-1 in Big South action. The Blue Hose stay at home to
kick off a PC hoops doubleheader with a Saturday matchup against Radford at 5
p.m. The Blue Hose men follow against Campbell at 7:30 p.m. The lobby will also
feature a Kids' Zone that includes face-painting, a balloon artist and more
from 6 to 8 p.m.
The team's current five-game winning streak marks the
longest since the 2005-06 season and its longest such streak in the Big South
Conference.
Dria David (Lawrenceville, Ga.) scored a career-high 22
points and collected a season-high 13 rebounds to lead all players in both categories.
The performance marks the senior guard's first double-double since November 23,
2010 and the team's second of the season.
Mariah Pietrowski (Elizabethton, Tenn.) and Shonda Burnside
(Gray Court, S.C.) each posted 16 points and six rebounds on the night.
Longwood featured four players in double figures, led by
Chelsea Coward's 19 points and nine rebounds.
The Blue Hose shot a season-high 55.1 percent (27-for-49)
while outrebounding the Lancers, 43-27. PC also scored 27 points off the bench
to Longwood's eight.
Longwood came out strong to start the second half, beginning
the stanza on a 17-9 run to tie the game at 44-44 on a Raven Williams three-pointer.
Pietrowski broke the lead on a tough bucket inside from Noelle
Carter (Neptune, N.J.) pass, but the Lancers would stretch their second half
scoring to 22-11 and take a three-point lead on a trey from Crystal Smith.
David answered with a three of her own and hit another on PC's
next trip down the floor after a Longwood layup to take back the lead for PC at
4:47, 54-53.
Sherece Smith, making her first appearance since November 28,
gave the Blue Hose a five-point lead on a crucial jumper before the Lancers
pulled to within three.
David intercepted a ball in the post and Burnside converted
a spin move on the other end to give PC a five-point lead with 1:19 to go. A
Kasey Hobbie (Spring Lake, N.J.) three that bounced up and in gave the Blue
Hose a 63-57 lead in the final minute and PC closed the game out on the foul
line from there, sealing the 71-62 victory.
PC came out with a dominant first half, shooting 62.5
percent (15-for-24) at halftime. The Blue Hose also held a 26-9 rebounding edge
and outscored Longwood in the paint, 25-14, while receiving 15 points from its
bench to Longwood's two.
The two teams came out battling and slugged it out to a
10-10 tie 8:35 into the first half. The Blue Hose then broke off a 12-2
run that saw the home side score nine straight points from Burnside, David,
Hobbie and Pietrowski.
PC kept up the pressure and built a 13-point lead 4:39
before halftime. Longwood cut the lead by five points thanks in part to four
points from Daeisha Brown but the Blue Hose entered the break ahead, 35-27.
Devin Fothergill (Somerset, Ky.) played in her 100th
career game on Thursday and dished out five assists, her third straight game
with at least five helpers.
