GREENSBORO, NC—The Greensboro College Pride women’s basketball upset #12 Ferrum College on Tuesday evening with a 85-72 victory on senior night. Prior the game, the Pride recognized their lone senior in Chevena Pickard. Pickard played a big role in the victory, contributing 26 points on the night to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.
In a seesaw first ten minutes of play, neither team was able to take control of the game with six lead changes. Greensboro College gained control of the half with 9-0 to pull out to the largest lead of the half for either team at 32-22 with 5:25 showing until intermission. During the run, the Pride had three different players contribute with Marla Crawford’s long range three capping off the run.
During the last five minutes, Ferrum outscored Greensboro 14-8 to pull within a four point margin at 40-36 going into the halftime break. The first half of play saw the Pride shoot 44 percent (16-36) from the field while shooting 37 percent (3-8) from long range.
The Panthers controlled the first nine minutes of play after the break, pulling out to their largest lead of the game at 54-48 forcing Greensboro to take a timeout. After the timeout, the Pride came storming back with a 13-0 run retaking the lead at 61-54 with 7:53 showing on the game clock. A Syerra Troutman layup began the run, before a pair of Joslyn Spires free-throws capped off the run.
After Greensboro pulled to the seven point lead, Ferrum had one last pushing cutting the deficit to three at 61-58. However, a three pointer from Pickard sparked a 10-2 run for the Pride pushing them out to an 11 point lead at 71-60 with 4:18 left to play. Down the stretch, Greensboro connected on 10 of 14 from the charity stripe pursuing the 85-72 victory.
“I think everyone contributed even without points”, Greensboro College Head Coach Randy Tuggle said after the game, “This was a total team effort and a great way to send out Chevena especially against a quality team like Ferrum.”
The Pride connected on 30 of their 68 shots on the night for 44 percent , with six of them coming from long range. Greensboro College had three players record double digits led by Pickard, while Shanita Hampton chipped in 24 points of her own. Spires was close behind with 19 points to go along with five assists.
Greensboro forced 21 Panther miscues on the night with 10 of the coming in the form of steals. The Pride had five players record steals on the night with four of them recording two each.
With the win over the Panthers, the Pride record their first win over a nationally ranked them since the 2011-2012 campaign. Greensboro College moves to 17-5 overall on the season and 13-3 in USA South conference play. The Pride will return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to USA South rival Averett University for a 5:30 pm showdown. For the latest on Greensboro College Athletics, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.