Photo by Dillard Stephens
FARMVILLE, Va. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball
team ended the 2012-13 regular season on a high note, holding off Longwood to win
its seventh straight game in a 76-72 Saturday victory at Willett Hall.
PC improves to 19-10 and caps the regular season with a 14-4 Big
South Conference record, tying for second. The Blue Hose will take the No. 3 seed and play in the
Friday quarterfinals at the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Championships at The
HTC Center. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
and PC will face the winner of Wednesday's game between No. 6 Radford and No.
11 UNC Asheville.
Longwood falls to 11-18 and 8-10 in the Big South. The No. 7 Lancers will face No. 10 Charleston Southern on Wednesday at noon.
The Blue Hose took a 14-point lead into halftime and held
off a surging Lancers squad that crept to within one with seven seconds left.
Karlee Taylor (Asheville, N.C.) converted two free throws before Longwood, out
of timeouts, attempted to call a timeout and was assessed a technical foul.
Taylor hit the next free throw and PC grabbed the offensive rebound on the second
as the Blue Hose took the win.
Dria David (Lawrenceville, Ga.) set a new Division I-era
record (since 2007-08) by dishing out 11 assists in the win. The total eclipses
Katlin Moore's 10 against Stetson on December 18, 2008 and moves David into
eighth place in program history with 330 career assists. David scored 14 points with her 11 assists to posted her fifth career double-double
and second this season, both against Longwood.
Karlee Taylor (Asheville, N.C.) led PC with 22 points thanks
in part to five three-pointers while Mariah Pietrowski (Elizabethton, Tenn.) added
19 points on a 9-for-14 shooting performance. The senior's nine field goals
mark the third-most in a Division I game for PC. Shonda Burnside (Gray Court,
S.C.) chipped in 10 rebounds and eight pounds.
Chelsea Coward led Longwood with a game-high 24 points.
PC took a 10 point lead into the final five minutes when Longwood began to steadily chip away at PC's lead. The Lancers used free throws
from the bonus to pull within four and a Chelsea Coward layup cut PC's lead to
three with 59 seconds left.
Coward converted another free throw but missed the second and Pietrowski hauled in the rebound. One missed PC free throw later, the Lancers
turned the ball over and fouled David to stop the clock. David knocked down
both foul shots, giving PC a four-point lead and setting up Raven Williams's
three-pointer and Taylor's clutch free throws.
The Blue Hose shot 55.8 percent on the night (29-for-52) and
slowly built a lead throughout the first half.
A 12-2 run erased a slim Longwood advantage and put the Blue Hose in front by
nine points midway through the period. PC dominated inside early, outscoring
Longwood 22-13 in the paint at halftime.
Devin Fothergill (Somerset, Ky.) gave PC a double-digit lead
on a layup with 7:16 left before the break and Burnside added a layup for a
12-point advantage. Longwood roared back with seven straight points but went
the final 4:46 without a score as PC restored its lead. Pietrowski capped the
nine-point run with a jumper to send the Blue Hose ahead at halftime, 39-25.
PC held onto a double-digit lead for most of the second
half. Longwood narrowed the gap to nine at the 1:33 mark before the Blue Hose stretched
their lead back to 17 with 9:34 remaining. The Lancers then found eight straight
points and pulled within 10 to kickstart their late-game run.
Noelle Carter (Neptune, N.J.) blocked two shots to match a
season-high.
