Box Score
Demorest, GA -- The Piedmont College women's basketball team could not push its seven-game winning streak to eight this afternoon as Great South Athletic Conference member Maryville College claimed a 68-58 victory in the Cave. PC failed to connect on a three-point basket for the first time this season going 0-11 as a team from downtown while the visitors hit 33% of their own three-point tries.
In the opening half, Piedmont was the first team to establish a solid lead after over seven minutes of back-and-forth basketball. With the score tied at nine at the 12:57 mark, Piedmont went on a quick 5-0 run that was capped by a three-point play from freshman
Lauren Hamel who was a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe on the day.
PC would hold the advantage for almost the next seven minutes of play until Maryville was able to tie the score once more at 20 a piece with just under six minutes until the break. The Scots then took advantage of an 9-2 run over the final three minutes of the first half to claim a 32-26 hafltime lead.
When the action resumed, Maryville would begin to seize control pushing their lead to double-digits with 15:41 to play in the game though the Lady Lions were not quite done yet. Piedmont continued to battle down the stretch and finally cut deep into the Lady Scots lead when a pair of
Laura Simmons free throws made the margin five points with 2:44 remaining.
However, the home team's struggles on the day to connect from dowtown would come back to haunt them down the stretch as the Lady Lions missed their next four shots from the field including a trio of three-point attempts. Maryville would make their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the ten point road win dropping PC from the ranks of the undefeated in conference play.
Sada Wheeler led Piedmont in scoring while posting her second consecutive double-double to bring her season total to six such performances. The junior forward had 18 points on seven of 12 shooting while pulling down ten boards and rejecting four shots.
Fellow post player
Laura Simmons grabbed a pair of boards while tallying 14 total points to reach double-figures in scoring for the fourth straight time. Shooting over 50% from the field, Simmons also added a steal and a 2-of-3 performance from the free throw line.
Younster
Lauren Hamel contributed nicely coming off the bench to throw in seven points - five of which came from the charity stripe.
Amber Satterfield also scored seven points while adding three assists and a steal to the cause.
The loss drops Piedmont to 5-1 in GSAC play and 11-5 overall snapping a seven-game winning streak that started before Christmas. PC now sits second in the conference standings and will return to the floor when the team travels to Macon, GA to take on Wesleyan College in a 6:00 contest on Wednesday, January 26.
