from Bryan Jones, Greensboro College SID:
GREENSBORO, N.C.–North Carolina Wesleyan College’s Kayla Johnson posted a game-high 29 points as Greensboro College dropped a Friday evening USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) contest to the Battling Bishops, 94-61.
The Pride jumped to a 7-2 lead through the first 4:30 of the contest. The Pride maintained the lead, which grew to seven points, through the 3:08 mark of the first quarter thanks to Briana Milton’s pair of free throws. N.C. Wesleyan began to chip away at the lead as they cut the Pride lead down to two points with a minute left in the quarter and then evened the game, 13-13, in the final seconds of the period.
Both teams traded the lead in the first minute with Pride going up by two points 47 seconds into the second quarter, 16-14. The Battling Bishops responded with a 22-0 run over the next 6:16 of the period, expanding their lead to 20 points. The Pride responded with an 8-0 run, capped by a Kiara Johnson three-point field goal to bring the deficit down to 12 points. N.C Wesleyan scored the final seven points of the period to claim a 19-point lead at halftime.
N.C. Wesleyan expanded their lead further with an 11-0 run in a 3:25 stretch of the third quarter. Their lead grew as large as 36 points in the period. N.C. Wesleyan’s largest lead stretched as large as 41 points in the fourth quarter as the Battling Bishops earned the victory.
The Pride shot 38.5 percent from the field, including 57.1 percent fourth-quarter shooting. N.C. Wesleyan shot 40 percent from the field, posting a 57.1-percent effort in the second quarter.
The Battling Bishops out-rebounded the Pride, 48-37, but Greensboro held the edge in second-chance points, 15-11. N.C. Wesleyan capitalized on 27 Greensboro turnovers, converting those miscues into 31 points. The Pride turned 13 N.C. Wesleyan turnovers into eight points.
Lauren Livingston led the Pride with 20 points on eight-for-14 shooting. Karli Mason added 14 points on four-for-14 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds and earning three assists.
Johnson’s 29 points came on ten-for-20 shooting. Kayrisma Harrison added 12 points on four-for-seven shooting.
The Pride and the Battling Bishops finish their home-and-home series Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest at N.C. Wesleyan.