CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team never trailed and held on to win a key Big South Conference game over the Campbell Camels on Tuesday night, 51-42.
PC improves to 11-9 overall, 6-5 in the Big South and next plays at UNC Asheville on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN3. Campbell falls to 11-9, 6-5 and hosts Longwood on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Blue Hose won a disjointed contest that saw 37 combined fouls and 45 combined turnovers. PC's victory came in part to the team's impressive play on the boards, collecting 42 rebounds to Campbell's 30. Keyonna Allen (Forest Park, Ga.) led the team with 15 points while Rebecca Walker (Snellville, Ga.) hauled in a team-best six rebounds as PC earned their fourth win in five games.
Summer Leverette paced Campbell with 14 points. The Camels struggled from the floor, shooting 30.9 percent (17-for-55) and made six of 20 three-point attempts.
PC overcame a slow start from both teams to lead by as many as 11 in the first half. Elizabeth Landers (Greenville, S.C.) scored the first five points of the game and the Blue Hose held Campbell scoreless for nearly five minutes after the opening tip-off. The Camels went cold in the opening stanza, shooting 25.0 percent (7-for-28).
Campbell scored 12 of its 19 first half points from beyond the arc on treys from Summer Leverette and Krystal Mangum. Seemingly every time PC built a several-possession lead, one of the Camels hit from distance to keep it close. A Mangum three-pointer made it a two-point game midway through the half, but PC went back up by five thanks to Allen and Walker.
With PC ahead 14-11, the Blue Hose scored six straight points to lead 20-11 with five minutes before the break. Leverette struck again from downtown, but Janie Miles hit a three of her own shortly after and Keyonna Allen finished a layup inside for a 25-14 edge with 68 seconds left. Leverette would answer, however, scoring five points in the final 47 seconds to cut PC's halftime lead to 25-19.
PC shot 41.7 percent in the first half (10-for-24) and Keyonna Allen led the home team with eight points.
Campbell tied the game three times in the second half but never pulled ahead. Amanda Coffer singlehandedly pulled the Camels to within one at 25-24 shortly after the break and Campbell eventually worked its way back, tying the game for the first time at the 14:26 mark on a RaeChaun Edwards free throw.
Rebecca Walker later broke a 32-32 tie with an old-fashioned three-point play at 11:06 and PC would never look back. Janie Miles (Clemson, S.C.) hit a trey for a six point lead, but Campbell cut the gap to one point at 39-38.
Walker came through at the free throw line on Tuesday night, going 5-for-5 and giving PC three points of breathing room with seven minutes to go. A little over a minute later, Cortney Storey (Fayetteville, Tenn.) drained an open three-pointer from some nifty passing and PC led, 44-38.
Campbell would get no closer than four points from there, and Allen banked a highlight-reel hook shot off the glass for her 15th point. PC went 16-for-20 on free throws and Aianna Kelly (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Walker drained four in the final minute to seal the win, 51-42.
