ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson University women's basketball (17-8, 17-4 SAC) held off South Atlantic Conference opponent Lenoir-Rhyne (8-13, 7-12 SAC) final push (9-14, 9-11 SAC), 72-64, on Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
"What a great game today and great atmosphere," said head coach Jonathon Barbaree. "I want to really thank everyone who helped us run a great Play4Kay event."
"I thought we did a good job of making in game adjustments based on how they were playing us defensively," stated Barbaree.
"We had some players really stepped up and hit some timely shots and helped carry the scoring load for Shameka," added Barbaree
Despite being heavily guarded by the Bears defense, graduate Shameka McNeill scored a game-high 24 points, dropping in 10 huge points in the fourth quarter of action. Junior Brittney Stafford netted 14 points while grabbing two rebounds, dishing out two assists and being credited with two steals. Freshman Diamond McDowell recorded her fifth double-double of the season chipping in 13 points and ripping down a career-high 19 rebounds.
Lenoir-Rhyne placed two players in double-digit scoring with Emily Harman scoring a team-high 20 points and Brandi Hudson scoring 19 points for the Bears.
The Trojans led Lenoir-Rhyne by a point, 36-35, heading into halftime. Anderson came out of the half with increase pressure which resulted in a 10 point lead with one quarter remaining.
The Bears were able to cut the lead to just one point, 60-59, with 4:35 left to play. An AU layup by McNeill put the Black and Gold up by three points with 2:38 remaining and then again at the 1:30 mark. Anderson was able to make 5-of-6 foul shots in the final 30 seconds to claim the, 72-64, victory.
Anderson returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to South Atlantic Conference foe Wingate. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 pm.
