MARS HILL, N.C. - Behind a season-high 10 three-pointers, the Anderson women's basketball team opened a five-game road swing by topping Mars Hill, 74-63, in South Atlantic Conference play Saturday afternoon at Stanford Arena.

Coming off a six-day layoff, Anderson ((4-2, 2-0 SAC) survived a scoring drought in each half to stretch its win streak to four games and stay perfect in conference play, while earning its second road win of the early season and handing Mars Hill Mars Hill (5-2, 1-1 SAC) its first home loss and first setback in four outings.

The game began as a battle from beyond the arc, with the Trojans jumping out to an early 9-3 advantage behind a game-opening 3-pointer from sophomore guard Amanda Parris and following a trey from Mars Hill's Brittini Young, AU's Alissa Diaz notched a 3 before a traditional three-point play from Alexa Neal boosted the Trojan lead to six - the largest by either team until Neal's rare four-point play with just more than a minute remaining in the half gave AU a 37-29 advantage.

Following Neal's free throw, Anderson suffered a 3:35 scoring drought, allowing the Lady Lions to edge out to a brief 11-9 lead on the strength of two more treys from Young, who scored MHC's first nine points - all from beyond the arc.
The lead changed hands seven times and there were four ties in the opening half before sophomore Tilde Ahlin gave Anderson a lead at the 8:52 mark.

Parris buried her season-high third 3-pointer of the afternoon just before halftime to cap a 9-0 run and give the Trojans a 40-29 lead at the break.

Ashley Abed, AU's leading scorer, was saddled with early foul trouble and did not score until her layup with 18:08 left in the game gave the Trojans a 42-32 lead. The senior from Oakton, Va., boosted Anderson's cushion to 12 with a pair of free throws less than 30 seconds later.

Anderson suffered another scoring drought, this time from the 17:31 mark until Lauren Beeson's trey with 12:05 on the clock, allowed Mars Hill to chip away and eventually knot the score, 47-47, for the fifth time of the afternoon on two free throws from Kristen Metcalf midway through the second half.

Young regained the lead for the Lady Lions with a layup - their first advantage since the 9:07 mark of the opening frame and their last of the contest - before AU responded with six unanswered points to reclaim a 53-49 lead, part of a 20-7 outburst that lifted the lead back to double-digits with three minutes left in the game.

The Trojans, who were a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe until the final 1:21, misfired on three consecutive free throws in the final moments before Neal and Abed combined to drain four straight to set the final margin.

Anderson connected on a season-high 84.2 percent (16-19) from the line and outrebounded Mars Hill, 50-31, on the afternoon. The Trojans shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field, including 10-24 (41.7%) from beyond the arc.

Neal finished with a game-high 19 points and seven assists, while Abed notched AU's first double-double of the season with 15 second-half points and 10 rebounds. Diaz added 10 points, four boards and three assists.

Young led four Lady Lions in double figures with 18 points.

Next up for the Trojans is a trip to Savannah, Ga., where AU will face Columbus State on Friday in the first round of the 2010 Hampton Inn & Suites Fall Finals Classic, hosted by Armstrong Atlantic. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

AU wraps up play in the Classic on Saturday by squaring off against the host Lady Pirates on Saturday at 6 p.m.