January 31, 2009

MARS HILL, N.C. - Mars Hill won its 20th straight game and remained undefeated all-time against Brevard with a 73-61 victory Saturday afternoon inside Stanford Arena. The Lions improve to 11-9 overall, 4-5 in the SAC. The Tornados drop to 5-14, 0-9 in the SAC.

Mars Hill opened the game running with an 8-0 scoring streak in the first 3:22. Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) converted three layups, and Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.) pulled down four rebounds during the stretch.

Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) continued the Lions' hot start by drilling a three-pointer at the 13:43 mark to lift Mars Hill to a 13-4 advantage. Holli Flippo (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) nailed a trey on the next possession to cut the game to six, but Young hit a 15-footer two minutes later to give the Lions a 15-7 lead. Deal then scored five consecutive points to give Mars Hill a 20-7 advantage with 9:55 left in the half.

Mars Hill grabbed its largest lead of the game, 25-9, off a jumper by Bria Smith (Snellville, Ga.), but Brevard responded with a 23-7 run. Samantha Winn (Candler, N.C.) tied the game 32-all with a layup at the 1:11 mark, but Young answered with a three on the next possession, and the Lions carried a 35-33 lead into halftime.

Young had 14 first-half points for Mars Hill and was 4-6 from behind the arc. Winn scored 11 for Brevard.

The Lions opened the second half in similar fashion as the first with an 8-0 run, finished off when Young found a wide open Blanford for a fastbreak layup with 15:49 left in the game to make the score 43-33.

Flippo cut the game to five points, 45-40, off a layup at the 14:45 mark, but three minutes later Mars Hill stretched the lead back to double-digits, 54-43, with a fastbreak layup by Megan Clevenger (Parrottsville, Tenn.).

The Tornados then went on a 16-8 run and cut the deficit to three, 62-59, off a free throw by Winn with 4:19 left in the second half but would not get any closer. A Young three-pointer with 57 seconds left in the game gave Mars Hill a double-digit lead, 71-61.

Young finished with a game-high 19 points for Mars Hill. Deal posted a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Blanford also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Clevenger scored 12 points with 10 of them coming in the second half.

Winn recorded 18 points for Brevard. Flippo and Amanda Whitaker (Asheville, N.C.) each posted 13 points.

The Lions outscored the Tornados 19-2 off second chance points and 12-4 off fast break points.

Mars Hill will travel to Newberry on February 4. Tip-time is set for 6 p.m.

Season Stats...

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