Atlanta, GA -- The Piedmont College women's basketball team won their second game at the Oglethorpe University Classic defeating in-state rival Berry College 71-58 earlier today.  Despite being tied with the Vikings at halftime, the Lady Lions shot close to 45% as a team in the second half while holding Berry below 30% from the field to earn a third straight win to open the 2011-12 season.

Piedmont opened the afternoon showdown of in-state foes with four quick points from senior Sada Wheeler who made a pair of layups in the first minute handing PC a 4-0 advantage.  After the two teams traded buckets over the next few minutes, junior Alyssa Jones would help pad the Lady Lion lead at 11-5 with her first three-pointer of the night.

Antoher tri-fecta from Jones with just under 12 minutes remaining until halftime came in the midst of a 11-0 run from Piedmont which helped open up a 24-11 advantage at the midway point of the half.  However, the Lady Lions then went cold from the field from that point on until halftime managing just six more points while Berry rattled off 19 capped off with a Brittany Couglan three-pointer just before halftime that tied the game up at 30-30.

Just over three minutes into the second half, a Keiondria Thompson layup for Piedmont helped the Lady Lions build a five-point cushion over their in-state rivals at 37-32.  However, a pair of back-to-back buckets from downtown within a minute courtesy of Couglan would hand the lead back over to Berry at 38-37 with 14:54 remaining in half number two.

After PC went on a 6-0 run to storm back in front, the Vikings again got two quick three-pointers to pull within a point, 45-44, with just under 12 minutes to go.  Piedmont's Jones answered back with her own effort from behind the arc to spark an 11-3 run over the next six minutes that set the tone for the Lady Lions down the stretch.

With the Vikings again trying to close the margin as a little more than six minutes remained on the clock, it was yet another veteran who came up big as senior Amber Satterfield hit both of her three pointers on the day within a minute to help Piedmont once again push away the comeback effort from Berry. 

The Lady Lions then locked down defensively giving up just three field goals to the Vikings over the final 5:49 en route to the 71-58 victory over Berry.  The win is the second for PC at the Oglethorpe tourney held in Atlanta after having knocked off the host Stormy Petrels just yesterday afternoon.

Domination in the paint was the story of the Lady Lions' day as the team picked up a 20-20 plus performance from senior Sada Wheeler who continues to be one of the most feared offensive weapons and defensive forces in the south.  Wheeler came within three blocks of a triple-double for the second time in three games during the 2011-12 season improving on her opening night performance with 23 total points but coming up just shy of her own school record collecting 20 rebounds against the Stormy Petrels.

Shooting 50% from the field and 75% from downtown was the junior Jones who posted 13 points behind only Wheeler's game-high 23.  Jones also had seven assists and seven boards in her most complete performance of the young 2011-12 season.

Adding a combined 12 points was a pair of seniors in Satterfield and Shanice Wheeler who each also had strong contributions throughout the game.  Satterfield's pair of late three point buckets helped spur Piedmont as the McCaysville native once again proved timely in her shooting from downtown while Wheeler collected an incredible eight steals on the day with a half dozen rebounds and four assists as well.

The Lady Lions move to 3-0 on the year with the win over Berry starting out 3-0 for the second time under Head Coach Jamie Purdy after her 2007-08 team began the year with three straight wins.  Piedmont will look for its first 4-0 start under Purdy when the team hosts Spelman College this Wednesday, November 30th for a 6:00 pm contest in the Cave.