Box Score

Demorest, GA -- The Piedmont College women's basketball team managed to overcome a dismal first half shooting performance to claim their sixth straight victory with a 69-60 win over Great South Athletic Conference member Salem College earlier this afternoon in the Cave.  The Lady Lions came out ice cold in the first 20 minutes connecting on only 20% of their tries from the field but steadied the ship in the second half to come away with a nine point home victory keeping alive a six-game win streak.

Piedmont struggled to get moving from the opening tip as the squad missed their first seven shots of the game on the way to falling behind 14-10 at the 13:04 mark.  The two squads would battle for the advantage over the next eight minutes until the Spirits began to surge ahead taking a six point lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. 

Salem took its largest lead of the game three minutes later pushing the margin to nine on a three-pointer.  The visitors stayed ahead through the halftime break leading 31-24 when the squads broke for the intermission as PC made only nine field goals in the first half.

When the teams came back from the locker rooms, Piedmont began show the determination that the home fans had grown accustomed to as early pressure from Shanice Wheeler led to a steal and fast break bucket trimming the Spirit lead down to five. 

Moments later, Laura Simmons hit a two-point jumper to again chip away at the Salem lead while an Amber Satterfield trifecta brought the Lady Lions even closer.  A Jordan Gustavel free throw would give Piedmont its first lead since midway through the first half as the host Lady Lions took control by taking the lead over for good on the way to a nine-point victory, the team's sixth consecutive.

Veteran Laura Simmons provided the spark to the second half rally from PC as the senior tallied ten of her 15 points on the day in the final 20 minutes.  Simmons continued to provide timely buckets as she has all season connecting on six of her nine shots from the field.

Junior Amber Satterfield was one the Lady Lion shooters who struggled to find their groove in the early going as the guard hit only two of her 13 shots in the first half.  However, the McCaysville native got it going in the second hitting four three-pointers to propel herself to a team-high 21 total points.

Tossing in nine points to the effort was guard Shanice Wheeler who also worked hard on the defensive end coming up with seven steals for the squad.  A pair of Lady Lions had six points a piece in forward Sada Wheeler and guard McKenzie Reeves.

Shooting troubles plagued the home team in the first half as the team shot a season-low 20% from the field and less than 15% from beyond the three-point line.  The Lady Lions' ice cold shooting in the first was balanced out when the squad connected on close to 50% of their tries from the field in the second half.

The victory improves the Lady Lions to 10-4 overall while keeping the team undefeated in league play at 5-0.  The conference win also gives PC sole possession of first place in the GSAC standings over 4-0 Maryville College.  Action will kick back up for the first-place team when Piedmont hosts Covenant College for a 5:00 tip-off on Tuesday, January 18 in the Cave.