CINCINNATI, OHIO – A late second-half run helped the Xavier Musketeers edge the Presbyterian College women's basketball team on Wednesday night in Cincinnati, 45-43.
PC (2-3) held Xavier (4-1) to 24 percent shooting in the second half, but five straight Musketeer points in the final minutes gave the home side enough to slip past the Blue Hose. PC resumes play after Thanksgiving on Saturday with the first game of a Blue Hose hoops doubleheader at 2 p.m.. The women's team hosts SC State at 2 p.m. before men's basketball hosts Bob Jones at 4:30 p.m. Admission will be free.
Keyonna Allen (Forest Park, Ga.) set a new career-high with 15 rebounds while scoring 14 points for her fourth career double-double and the team's second of the season.
The two sides played a statistically even game, as each team posted eight steals, went 1-for-11 in the second half from long range and virtually matched on assists and turnovers.
The Blue Hose wrested away a 23-21 Xavier halftime lead with a four quick points from Janie Miles (Clemson, S.C.) early in the second half. Layups from Rebecca Walker (Snellville, Ga.) and Aianna Kelly (Newport News, Va.) helped PC stay ahead and an Allie Wagner (Easley, S.C.) pushed the lead to five at the 16:14 mark.
Points became scarce during the half's first 10 minutes, but timely shooting from Allen and Wagner kept the visitors in the lead. A Jameka Braden (Shelbyville, Tenn.) layup made it 37-35 PC with 7:29 to go and PC continued to beat back the Musketeers as an Allen score kept the two-point edge at 3:03. From there, however, six straight points in the next 1:07—three from Maleeka Kynard—gave the home team a 45-41 lead with 1:21 to go.
Allen scored her game-high 14th point to slash the lead in half soon after, but the Blue Hose could not pull even.
Miles finished with 12 points and three assists, going three-for-five from three-point range. Kelly chipped in five rebounds. Jenna Crittendon led Xavier with 10 rebounds while Briana Glover posted 11 points.
PC jumped out to a seven-point lead midway through the first half and pushed back against a late Xavier run to head into the locker room down only two points, 23-21.
The freshman duo of Janie Miles (nine first half points) and Cortney Storey (three first half points) and helped PC take a 15-8 lead with 11:04 left in the first. Miles hit two three-pointers in less than three minutes to push PC's lead to seven. Xavier then scored nine straight points as part of a 13-2 to grab a 23-17 point lead.
The Blue Hose continued to battle and overcame seven turnovers in a 1:02 span to narrow the gap late in the half. Rebecca Walker converted a layup before Keyonna Allen hauled in a rebound off of a missed Xavier trey attempt and scored on the other end. The redshirt junior then grabbed a steal to enter halftime trailing 23-21. PC shot 45 percent (9-for-20) in the opening half.
