Box Score  |  Season Stats

Greensboro, NC - Greensboro pulled off a season split with the Lady Lions after an exciting finish, holding on to win 59-57 Monday afternoon as Alyssa Jones' potential game-tying layup missed as time expired.  The Pride avenged their loss to Piedmont back in early December, returning the favor on their home court.  The home team carried a slim five-point lead into the half before the Lady Lions clawed their way back into the game and gave themselves a chance to win on the final shot.  No. 20 Greensboro was fortunate to walk away with the win despite its dismal performance in long-range shooting, going 0-for-14 from outside in the game.

All-American Danielle Duncan made that a non-factor however, dominating with 31 points and 11 rebounds and three blocks.  The Pride out-rebounded the Lady Lions 49-39, kept them to just nine free throw attempts and had 20 second-chance points as well as 20 points from the bench.  Junior Keiondria Thompson led the charge for Piedmont with 17 points and four rebounds.  Senior Sada Wheeler, who out-dueled Duncan in the previous meeting, was held to just eight points, but still managed 11 rebounds and an amazing seven blocks.

Duncan and Wheeler were on fire for the first four-plus minutes of the game, as no other player recorded a single point until sophomore Lauren Hamel hit a jumper with 15:31 to go.  Duncan scored the first eight points for the Pride, while hit a pair of early layups.  Hamel's jumper cut the deficit in half, 8-6, until Thompson connected from beyond the arc to put the Lady Lions ahead 9-8.  The home team responded with a quick bucket, but Thompson did it again moments later to go up two points.  Senior Amber Satterfield and Thompson stretched the lead with back-to-back triples, pushing the lead to nine with under nine minutes to go in the half, which was all part of an 11-1 run for the Lady Lions.

Greensboro regained control with a dominant 17-3 run, with Thompson's fourth 3-pointer the only output for Piedmont in that six-minute span.  Duncan tallied 11 points during the final seven minutes of the stanza, giving her 20 for the first half alone, good for over half of the team's total.  Thompson collected 12 points in her big first half as well.  Both teams minimized the efforts of the scoring leaders in the first half, as Thompson had just five points and Duncan just 11 the rest of the way.  Interestingly enough, however, Duncan and Thompson were the first two to score coming out of the intermission. 

Duncan's layup with 11:10 left in the game put the Pride up eight, and it appeared they may begin to pull away.  A timely Lady Lions' run rejected the notion, as the women put up 10 unanswered points to go up two, 48-46 with 7:57 remaining.  Satterfield's dramatic tri-fecta capped the run and marked an overall span of nearly six minutes without a single point from the Greensboro offense.  Duncan converted a three-point play to end the run and give the lead back to the Pride with 5:37 left on the clock.  After another GC basket made it a three-point deficit, Thompson and freshman Elise Reyes hit back-to-back shots to go up 52-51.

The Pride's defense buckled down to hold Piedmont scoreless over the next three minutes and 17 seconds before Reyes hit another jumper to pull the women back to within one with 1:01 to go.  Duncan hit a shot from the charity stripe to push it to two-points, but Jones' layup with 26 seconds also sent her to the foul line after drawing contact on the shot.  She converted the three-point play to give Piedmont a one-point cushion.  14 seconds later GC hit a jump shot to take back the lead, and Duncan was sent to the line once more, making the front end and missing the last shot.  The Lady Lions used a timeout in preparation for the final shot with four seconds to play, but in the final seconds, Jones' attempt fell short as Greensboro held on for the two-point win.

Jones closed with 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists in the loss, while Reyes and Wheeler each had eight points.  Satterfield and fellow senior Shanice Wheeler added six points, as Hamel rounded out the scoring with two points on her early deuce in the opening half.  Piedmont drops to 13-2 and have lost two of its last three.  After playing two games in as many days, the women will return to action Saturday in a much-anticipated home game against Great South Athletic Conference arch-rivals, Maryville College.  Tip-off is slated for 2:00 pm in Cave Arena.  The Lady Lions are 5-1 in GSAC play.