Box Score
Box score
ANDERSON, S.C. - On an afternoon where Anderson University
women's basketball honored its three seniors for Senior Day, the
trio combined for 25 points and 14 rebounds and helped seal the
outright South Atlantic Conference regular-season championship for
the second time in three seasons with a 74-54 victory over Queens
Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
With the victory, the Trojans claim their 16th straight triumph
and improve to 23-3 overall with a 20-2 mark in the conference,
marking the first time in SAC history a team has won 20 league
games. The 23 regular-season wins also marks the most AU has
totaled since joining the SAC prior to the 2010-11 season. With the
top seed in hand, the Trojans will host the opening round of next
week's SAC Tournament.
In her final regular-season home contest, senior guard Lesley
Woods paced the Black and Gold with 15 points, including four made
3-pointers. The guard made half of AU's treys on the afternoon, as
AU finished the contest 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) from behind the
arc.
Senior guard Sierra Simpson made the most of her Senior Day, as
she totaled double figures for the ninth straight game with 10
points, while accumulating seven rebounds, seven assists and a
career-high seven steals on the defensive end. With her 10 points,
the guard is now just 16 points away from 1,000 for her storied
career.
Junior Jasmine Franklin rounded out Anderson's double-figure
scoring with her third double-double of the season with 12 points
and a game-high 10 rebounds. The Simpsonville, S.C. native finished
5-for-7 from the floor and helped contribute to Anderson's 42.2
shooting percentage (27-for-64) for the game.
On the boards, senior Jaclyn Moore, who earned the start in her
final regular-season contest inside the Abney Center, pulled down
five rebounds, as the Trojans out-rebounded the Royals, 43-29, for
the day. With the 43 rebounds, AU recorded 18 second-chance points,
while holding the Royals to just six.
"I'm really happy for our three seniors because they have meant
so much to this program," Anderson head coach Jimmy Garrity said.
"I know everyone in our locker room wanted to send them out with a
win today. In my pregame talk, there wasn't anything mentioned
about winning a championship. We were only focused on doing
whatever it takes to send this senior class out with a victory in
front of their family and friends."
Queens was led by Lacey Singletary with 17 points, while
teammates McKell Oliverio and Abby Pettit scored 12 and 10,
respectively. The trio combined for 39 of the visitors' 54 points,
as the Royals scored just eight bench points.
After Singletary connected on the game's first points on a
jumper, Woods answered the brief deficit with a corner trey that
handed the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. The 3-pointer
began a 9-2 run by the home side, headlined by Woods' second
3-pointer of the game, while sophomore Alexis Dillard capped off
the run with a lay-in. With the spurt, AU led 12-4 with 14:33 left
in the opening period.
Anderson continued to add to its lead and recorded its largest
advantage of 18 of the first half at the 5:19 mark when junior
Jennifer Monroe dropped in a lay-up that closed a 9-0 run by the
Black and Gold. Monroe eventually finished the afternoon with eight
points and five rebounds.
Leading 33-15 following the Monroe basket, the Royals began to
claw back into the game and scored the next 12 points, cutting into
the double-figure lead. Anderson faced a scoring drought and went
over four minutes without a field goal until junior Katie Davis
knocked in a jumper from just inside the three-point arc with 43
seconds remaining to snap a 12-0 run by the visitors.
After junior guard Madison Floyd, who finished with eight
points, followed the Davis bucket with a pair of free throws,
Queens' Pettit drained the Royals' only 3-pointer of the half from
the top of the key to set the halftime score at 37-30. In the final
five minutes of the half, Queens out-scored Anderson, 15-4.
The momentum continued to be in favor of Queens in the early
parts of the second half, as it brought its deficit to four through
the first two minutes. After AU's Franklin scored on a fast-break
lay-in to open the second half, the Royals scored the next five
points, headlined by Pettit's second triple of the game, sending
the score to 39-35.
Despite the small gap, Anderson responded with a 9-1 run over
the next three minutes and recorded its first double-figure lead of
the second stanza at 48-36. Within the spurt, Woods drained her
third trey of the game that handed AU a double-digit lead it would
not give up.
Holding Queens to just 11 made second-half field goals and
forcing 10 turnovers, Anderson grabbed a 20-point advantage when
Franklin dropped in another fast-break lay-in putting the Trojans
up 61-40 with just under nine minutes to play. Moments later, Woods
knocked in her final trey of the game to give Anderson its largest
lead of 22 with 4:36 remaining.
Freshman guard Jasmine Raynor capped off the contest with a
lay-up with under a minute left to set the final score at 74-54. As
a team, AU made 12-of-13 from the free throw line, as it has
recorded free throw percentages higher than 90 percent in two of
its last three contests.
"I'm so proud of this team for committing themselves to one
another day in and day out," Garrity said. "They truly care for one
another on and off the court and that has played a major role in
our success this year. Winning a championship is not easy and we
will enjoy this tonight and start preparing for the tournament on
Sunday."
Anderson shifts its focus to the postseason, as it welcomes
eighth-seeded Mars Hill to the Abney Center on Wednesday. Tip-off
with the Lions is scheduled for 7 p.m. with tickets prices ranging
from $6 for adults and $3 for children under the age of 12. Student
tickets will be $3 with their college ID.