February 11, 2009

HARROGATE, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial used a late first half surge to pull away from Mars Hill for an 89-77 victory Wednesday night inside Tex Turner Arena. The Lady Railsplitters improved to 10-13 overall and 4-8 in the SAC. The Lions dropped to 12-11 overall and 5-7 in the SAC.

Mars Hill held a 13-10 lead at the 12:12 mark in the first half off a jumper by Bria Smith (Snellville, Ga.). With 2:37 left in the opening period and the game tied at 28-all, Lincoln Memorial went on a 10-0 run. Cena Nasiloski (Hammond, Ind.) had two buckets in the paint during the sequence.  Stephanie Wagner (Elkhart, Ind.) hit a jumper with one second left on the clock, and the Lady Railsplitters had a 40-32 advantage at intermission.

A Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) bucket in the paint at the 18:45 mark in the second half cut the deficit to five points, 42-37, but Lincoln Memorial stretched its lead to 48-37 off a fastbreak layup by Dayshalee Salaman (Carolina, Puerto Rico).

Trailing 54-44 with 14:24 left in the game, Mars Hill went on a 14-7 run. Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) had eight points during the run. Two Young free throws at the 9:51 mark cut the Lady Railsplitter’s lead to 61-58.

Lincoln Memorial responded and stretched its lead to 69-60 off a jumper in the paint by Andi Winney (Yorktown, Ind.), but the Lions answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a Blanford bucket in the paint, to cut the deficit to two points, 69-67, with 4:39 left in the game. However, Mars Hill would get no closer.

The Lady Railsplitters outscored the Lions 18-7 over the next 4:06 to put the game away. Amberly O’Dell (Argos, Ind.) converted six of Lincoln Memorial’s  12 straight made free throws to ice the game.

Salaman and Dell each finished with 17 points for the Lady Railsplitters. Kara Harris (Alcoa, Tenn.) had 13 points. Winney scored 12 points. Nasiloski recorded 10 points and seven rebounds.

Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) poured in a season-high 20 points for the Lions. She was 7-13 from the field and 4-6 from behind the arc. Young had 15 points and was 13-14 from the charity stripe.

Blanford posted a double-double for Mars Hill with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She now has 1,021 career points and is six points away from passing Jackie Shelton for 21st on the school’s all-time scoring list.

Mars Hill will host Catawba Saturday on Senior Night inside Stanford Arena. Tip-time is set for 2 p.m.

Season Stats...

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