by RALEIGH, N.C. – The Mary Baldwin University women’s basketball team dropped a 72-58 contest with first-place William Peace in the Hermann Athletic Center on Saturday evening.
With the result, the Fighting Squirrels drop to 9-8 on the season with a 4-5 mark in USA South action, while the Pacers improve to 14-2 overall and remain perfect in league play at 7-0
Cauy Duboise (Navajo) and Brooke Anders each recorded 10 points, while Anders picked up 10 rebounds to lead the team and record her first double-double of the season. Hannah Varner and Bryonna Woofter each finished with eight points, while Codie Heilig finished with seven reboudns and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
For the Pacers, Jaymesha Sanders finished with a game-high 25 points to on 11-of-24 shooting to go with five rebounds and two assists, while Khadijah Daniels dropped 18 points with a game-best 12 rebounds off the bench. She also recorded four assists and a pair of steals. Mikayla Ray also registered 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting and was perfect from the free throw line. She pulled down 10 boards, added four assists, three steals and a game-high five steals.
The Pacers hit the first basket of the game before a three from Varner at the 7:35 mark put the Fighting Squirrels up 3-2. Two straight layups gave MBU a five-point advantage, but WPU quickly hit a three to cut the deficit to just two. Another three by Varner made it 10-5 but the Pacers hit on the next nine points to jump back into the lead with 3:20 showing on the clock. Another pair of baskets from MBU tied the game and a layup from the Pacers gave them a 16-14 edge at the end of the first quarter.
Saygili tied the game on a jumper with nine minutes left in the half before the Pacers responded with six-straight points to take a 22-16 lead. A pair of free throws from Woofter tied in with a jumper by Varner cut the lead to just two points with five minutes left in the half (22-20). The two sides alternated baskets for the remainder of the period before the Pacers pulled out to a 32-26 lead, which held to the break.
A basket by WPU followed by a jumper and a trey from Anders set the score at 34-31 with 7:20 left in the third. Ray hit on a layup followed by another three from Anders reduced the deficit to just two points. The Pacers responded with five-consecutive points, but a Duboise three and a Woofter layup set the score at 41-39 in favor of William Peace. The Pacers hit four free thows but another three from Mary Baldwin and a layup put the visitors within just one point with 3:23 left in the third. Saygili hit a layup to give the Fighting Squirrels a lead for the first time since the first quarter with two minutes left in the third, but the Pacers scored the next five points to take a 49-46 lead into the last period of regulation.
The Pacers scored the first 12 points of the final quarter to jump out to a 61-46 lead with just under six minutes left in the fourth. A quick run by the Fighting Squirrels put the score at 69-58, but that was as close as MBU would get before eventually falling 72-58.
As a team, MBU shot 35.4 (23-65) from the field, while William Peace hit on 41.5 percent (27-65) of its shots. MBU outrebounded the home side 41-40.
