BATESVILLE, AR – The Panthers women's basketball team finished up their southern SLIAC road trip with a courageous 75-69 victory at Lyon College on Saturday. Both teams came into the game with a winning record in conference play, so this was a great test for each squad in what turned out to be an exciting battle that came down to the final minute.
Principia reversed their typical game script of slow starts by coming out firing right out of the gate. The Panthers jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes and would extend the advantage to 25-12 near the end of the first quarter. The 25 points for Principia ties their season high for points in the opening quarter. After the Panthers increased their lead to 16 at 39-23 with 5:26 left in the first half, Lyon would cut the deficit in half by halftime with Principia holding a 43-35 advantage at the break.
Taylor Brown and
Trinniti Matthews each led the Panthers with 10 points in the half.
The Panthers scored the first bucket of the second half, but then allowed the Scots to go on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 47 midway through the third quarter. Lyon would stay even with Principia until 53-53 when the Panthers went on an 8-0 run to regain control of the game. A huge three-pointer by
Hannah Myers with 7:30 to play increased the lead to 11, but the Scots would not go down without a fight.
Lyon's Molly Mason hit back-to-back threes to get the Scots within only two with just over two minutes remaining, but she would miss a three on the ensuing possession that would have given Lyon their first lead.
Lamiya Terrell then recorded her fifth steal of the game which led to a big lay up by
Ariana Williams. The strong Panther defense would continue as
Taylor Brown took a charge on the other end to set up the game-sealing free throws by Williams for a final score of 75-69.
Brown finished with her second-highest point total of the season at 19 points while adding 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Matthews also finished with her second-best scoring game of the season at 16 points while contributing 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Terrell had a nice game as well with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5 steals, while Williams finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 1 block.
The victory continues an unbeaten start to SLIAC play for the Principia women who sit in first place at 6-0. The program will now look to end their 24-game losing streak against Greenville when they face their fellow Panthers on the road this coming Tuesday at 5:30 pm.
