ANDERSON, S.C. - Shooting 54.5 percent from the floor in the first half, headlined by a 6-for-8 mark from behind the 3-point line, a strong opening period proved to be the difference as Anderson University women's basketball claimed a point towards retaining the Beville Cup by knocking off archrival Erskine, 92-70, Tuesday evening at the Abney Athletic Center.

The win matches AU's best start to a season since the 2007-08 campaign, as this season's squad moves to 7-1 on the season. The Trojan victory marks the 13th straight over their in-state foe and improves their home record on the year to a perfect 4-0 mark. Erskine, which entered Tuesday's contest on a two-game winning streak, dropped to an even 5-5 mark for the season.

Four Trojans scored in double figures on the night, as senior sharpshooter Lesley Woods and junior forward Jennifer Monroe totaled 15 points apiece, which led the team. Junior Jasmine Franklin followed the tandem with 13 points and a rebound shy of AU's first double-double of the season with a team-high nine boards. Senior guard Sierra Simpson added 10 points with seven rebounds and a game-high five assists, while sophomore Alexis Dillard just missed double digits in scoring with nine points.

As a team, the Trojans pulled down 49 rebounds, marking the most boards since a 58-rebound mark in the season opener at USC Aiken on Nov. 19. A total of 33 rebounds came on the defensive side of the ball, matching their highest total of the season.

After the first 10 minutes of play, the Trojans faced a two-point deficit when Erskine's Tara Potter knocked in a turnaround jumper from 15 feet, which would hand the visitors their final lead of the contest at 27-25. Monroe answered the Potter basket with a lay-in, which would even the score at 27-27 and begin a quick 9-0 run by the Trojans. Woods immediately followed the Monroe basket and gave AU a lead it would not relinquish with a 3-pointer in front of the EC bench, as Dillard and Monroe followed the trey with lay-ins.

Erskine's Naomi Stuger would stop the spurt with a lay-in, but Anderson responded by out-scoring the Flying Fleet 21-5 in the final five minutes of the half, taking a 55-34 lead into halftime. Woods knocked down three 3-pointers in the run, as six different Trojans scored during the stretch to close the first 20 minutes.

Anderson cooled off in the final period, shooting just 34.6 percent from the floor, but maintained a lead higher than 20 points for the entire half. The Trojans took their largest advantage of the game of 31 points when freshman guard Jasmine Raynor banked in a runner from the paint for her first points of her collegiate career, pushing the AU lead to 71-40.

Fellow freshman Kaylee Koerperich also scored for the first time in her collegiate career, totaling five points for the evening, highlighted by three made free throws down the stretch.

For the game, Anderson was 8-of-19 from behind the 3-point line, as Woods went 5-of-9 from the arc. With the five made treys, the Raleigh, N.C. native becomes the fourth Trojan to make 180 or more 3-pointers for their career as she sits alone in fourth place on the all-time 3-pointers made list in program history. Junior Madison Floyd dropped in two 3-pointers, while sophomore Heather Jankowy added one triple.

The Flying Fleet was led by Ashley Espinosa with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Teammate Marnasha Eugene followed with 10 points, as the tandem combined for just over 44 percent of the team's scoring on the evening. As a team, Erskine shot 42.0 percent (29-for-69) from the field.

The Trojans notched another Beville Cup point for AU, as it the University leads 5-1.5 in the current standings pending men's basketball's result Tuesday night. With the current lead in the standings, Anderson looks to retain the Cup for the third consecutive year.

The Black and Gold face their longest layoff of the season before returning to South Atlantic Conference play on New Year's Eve when it travels to Wingate. Tip-off from Cuddy Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m.