CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team treated over 1,600 local students and fans to a convincing win on Monday morning, handing Southern Wesleyan a 81-50 loss at the Templeton Center.
PC improves to 5-4 overall and will next face Charlotte on Thursday at noon. Southern Wesleyan stays at 3-4 as the game counts for an exhibition result.
The Blue Hose rode a big first half run—including 16 unanswered points—to a lead they would never surrender. Elizabeth Landers (Greenville, S.C.) led PC with 15 points and nine rebounds on the morning, both game and career-highs for the redshirt freshman. Keyonna Allen (Forest Park, Ga.) added 13 points. Southern Wesleyan's Shyla Coleman paced the Warriors with 12 points.
The two teams found themselves in a shootout in the opening half. PC survived Southern Wesleyan's hot hands shooting for 42.9 percent as the Blue Hose connected on 57.6 percent of their own attempts, exploding for 52-first half points. Aianna Kelly and Allen led all players with nine points apiece at halftime as PC pounded the ball inside, going off for 28 points in the paint and 17 second chance points. PC also outrebounded the visitors 24-8 in the first half.
Southern Wesleyan jumped out a 10-5 lead to start the game before the Blue Hose regained control and broke off a 28-8 run heading until the 8:03 mark. The run included 16 straight points for the home side, featuring three-pointers from Kaycie Reffner (two) and Rebecca Walker (Snellville, Ga.) in a 73-second span.
The Warriors pulled to within 13 shortly after but the Blue Hose continued to keep its healthy double-digit lead. An Aianna Kelly layup with 5:14 left helped spur a 13-1 run into the final minute and gave PC a 52-28 lead at the break.
Both teams cooled offensively in the second half, as PC outscored Southern Wesleyan 29-22. The Blue Hose held Southern Wesleyan to 26.1 percent shooting in the second half and jumped out to a 35-point lead five minutes after halftime.
Tia Mason (San Antonio, Texas) scored eight points in the second half and Landers added seven.
