GREENSBORO, NC—The Greensboro college women’s basketball team defeated LaGrange College 66-51 on Sunday afternoon in USA South play. The Pride used stifling defense in the second half, while outscoring their opponents 36-15.
Greensboro jumped out to an early 15-6 lead at 14:54 in the first half, behind seven points by Shanita Hampton. LaGrange battled back over the next eight minutes taking their first lead at 23-22 with 6:31 to go. The Pride fought back tying the game at 27-27, before the Panthers used a 5-0 run taking a 36-30 lead into the break.
The second half saw The Pride use strong defense which resulted in a 16-0 run over the first eight minutes regaining the lead at 48-38. During the run, the defense forced ten turnovers, and had three steals. Two minutes after the big run, Cheveena Pickard with six points and Hampton with four sparked another run, this time a 10-0 run resulting in their largest lead of the game at 61-41 at 6:19 remaining in the contest. Both squads traded baskets down the stretch with the Pride taking the game 66-51.
The Pride defense forced 32 turnovers, while having 17 steals. Syerra Troutman led the way with a game high seven steals, and Pickard followed closely with four.
Four Greensboro players reached double digit scoring, led by Hampton with 17 on 6-8 shooting from the field. Pickard contributed 13 points, all of which came in the second half. Joslyn Spires and Troutman had 12 points apiece. Spires and Pickard also led the way with four assists apiece.
The Pride move to 6-2 overall, and 2-0 in USA South play with the victory. Greensboro will continue USA South action on Friday when they travel to Maryville College. The tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
1st 2nd Final
LaGrange (5-4, 0-1 USAS) 36 15 51
Greensboro (5-2, 1-0 USAS) 30 36 66