Anderson, S.C. – The Anderson University (7-3, 7-1 SAC) women's basketball team stood its ground against a physical South Atlantic Conference matchup, defeating Limestone (7-3, 4-3 SAC), 71-62, on Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.  

"I am very glad to come out on top tonight after a physical battle," said head coach Jonathon Barbaree. "We knew it was going to be tough, because of Limestone's ability to score at any given time. We talked at halftime about getting timely stops and making a run and I thought we did that in the third quarter."

Limestone held a five-point lead after one period of action, 21-16, with Anderson being able to cut the lead to three-points heading in to halftime.

AU used a 9-1 run to open the third quarter of play, setting the tone for the remainder of the period. The Black and Gold outscored the Saints, 23-9, to give Anderson an 11-point lead heading into the final 10-minutes of action.

Limestone did not go away quietly, applying pressure and causing Anderson to turn the ball over seven times in the fourth period. However, the Black and Gold withstood the pressure pulling down several key rebounds and sinking some big foul shots down the stretch to improve its overall conference record to 7-1.

Graduate student Shameka McNeill scored 28 points, while grabbing three rebounds, dishing out two assists and being credited with a career-high five steals. Freshman Diamond McDowell dropped in 12 points, while ripping down eight rebounds. Junior Jalyn Spurlin chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Graduate student Samantha Michel and seniors Britney Bailey and Taylor Hair each grabbed nine, eight and six rebounds, respectively.

Limestone's Quin Byrd scored a game-high 32 points and five rebounds. Byrd was the only Saint to reach double-digit scoring.

Anderson will step away from conference action and welcome Columbus State to the Abney Athletic Center. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 pm.