by STAUNTON, Va. – The Mary Baldwin University women’s basketball team picked up its fourth straight win with a 66-52 victory against Greensboro in USA South action on Sunday.
The Fighting Squirrels move to 9-6 on the season and 4-3 in league play, while the Pride fall to 8-4 overall and take their first conference loss and sit at 5-1.
Brooke Anders led all scorers with 21 points off seven three-pointers. She also recorded seven rebounds, one assist and a steal.
Demet Saygili recorded 12 points to go with eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Mary Moran registered 11 points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes.
Cauy Duboise (Navajo) led the game with 12 rebounds to go along with three steals and eight points. Nicole Mallon pulled down 10 rebounds for her third-consecutive game with at least 10 boards. She also added five assists and a blocked shot.
For Greensboro, Ashley Free and Katie Lewis each recorded 10 points, while Diajah Hickson pulled down 12 rebounds (six offensive).
The Pride started off the game on a 7-0 run to force an early timeout from MBU. After the stoppage, the Fighting Squirrels responded three straight threes to cut the lead and then took the lead on a Saygili jumper with 3:33 showing on the clock, 15-14. MBU hit on another pair of threes to go with free throws as it took a 25-19 lead at the end of the first period.
A three-pointer from Duboise nearly three minutes into the second quarter edged the lead to 28-19 before a Mallon layup and another Anders three pushed the score to 33-19 with 5:54 left in the half. Yet another three pointer for the Fighting Squirrels, this time by Bryonna Woofter, put the team up 17 and entered halftime with a 43-29 lead.
Moran hit a jumper to start the second half before each side traded three pointers with seven minutes left on the clock. Saygili’s layup fell true with six minutes left to put MBU up 18 (50-32) before GC got the game’s next five points. The Fighting Squirrels were held off the board for the remainder of the quarter as the Pride cut the lead to 10 at 55-45.
The Fighting Squirrels extended their lead to 14 points with six minutes left in regulation but a quick run by the Pride trimmed the lead to just eight with 4:30 on the clock. Back to back threes from Anders forced a timeout and the final two and half minutes of the game were scoreless as MBU picked up a victory.
MBU shot 36.2 percent (21-58) from the field, including 40.6 percent (13-32) from long range. The Fighting Squirrels hit on nearly 50 percent of their shots in the first half. Meanwhile, the Pride shot just 23.8 percent (19-80) from the floor, but outrebounded the home side 53-51.
