Box Score
Toccoa, GA - The stage didn't get much bigger for
Sada Wheeler and the Lady Lions as they took on unbeaten and #12 Greensboro College. Both teams entered undefeated, but Piedmont emerged victorious, 57-45 in a game that was all that it was drawn up to be and more. The Pride were a perfect 5-0, nationally ranked and had an All-American playing inside the paint in senior Danielle Duncan. However, Piedmont also came in unscathed with a 6-0 mark, had a senior All-American caliber player as well and played a defacto home game on a neutral court at Toccoa Falls College.
In the game inside the game, Wheeler dominated Duncan as the two similar players clashed all game long. Wheeler tallied a team-high 17 points, adding an impressive 19 rebounds and seven electrifying blocks. Duncan, a Division-III All-American a year ago and voted as a preseason selection again this year, was held to 18 points and 5 rebounds, lower than her average line of 20 points and 10 boards per game. The focus for both teams was to stop number 24, the jersey both Wheeler and Duncan wore. Both impressed, but Wheeler got the best of Greensboro, time and again rejecting Duncan's shots and muscling up for rebounds, all while holding her to just nine shots on the afternoon and forcing her to turn the ball over six times.
Three women ended in double digits for Piedmont, led by Wheeler and followed by
Keiondria Thompson and
Alyssa Jones, who each recorded 12 points. Jones neared a double-double as she pulled down eight rebounds in the win. The Lady Lions played great outside defense as well as inside the paint, forcing Greensboro to shoot from beyond the arc many times. Wheeler's inside dominance led to more attempts outside, leading to the Pride's second lowest 3-point output of the season, as they finished just 2-for-18.
The first half featured the type of game that was expected. Four ties and four lead changes summarized the first half frenzy that eventually saw Piedmont go into the locker room up 29-20. Duncan scored the initial eight points for Greensboro early on, while Wheeler also showed out in the first 20 minutes, scoring 12 to Duncan's 10 total first-half points.
Amber Satterfield drained a three with 5:37 to go in the opening half to break an 18-18 tie, giving the Lady Lions the lead for good. Satterfield's long-distance shot was part of a crucial 10-0 late run for the women.
Led by Wheeler, the Lady Lions were cleaning up nicely on the boards, out-rebounding the Pride 27-18 at intermission. By game's end, the final line showed a 53-35 rebounding win for Piedmont, who began the second half on a quick 6-0 run before Jena Cabe beat the shot clock with a long trey for Greensboro. The Lady Lions responded with their own tri-fecta courtesy of Thompson, one of three women to record a pair of three-point buckets. Moments later Piedmont took its largest lead of the game, a 17-point cushion, following Thompson's fast break layup.
The Pride shrunk the deficit to within double-digits with over 11 minutes remaining, but back-to-back three-pointers from
Lauren Hamel and Satterfield brought Piedmont back to a 15-point lead with under 10 to play. However, Greensboro used the charity stripe effectively during a 9-0 run that was timely, staging a comeback. Piedmont's seemingly insurmountable lead was depleted to six on two occasions, as Wheeler was in foul trouble with still six minutes to play and no fouls to give. Just as the comeback began to look unstoppable, Thompson hit a jumper with just over a minute left to put the game out of reach. Jones made good on four freebies in the final minute to ensure the win for Piedmont.
Satterfield finished with seven points, while
Shanice Wheeler chipped in with five points to go with her nine rebounds and five steals. Bianca Richburg recorded a double-double for the Pride after an 11-point, 10-rebound performance. The Lady Lions were forced to play the game on the campus of Toccoa Falls College due to Piedmont's winter graduation at the Johnny Mize Athletic Center.
