Box Score Mt. Berry, GA - The Piedmont College women's basketball team held off a second half surge from Oglethorpe University earlier this afternoon to take a 60-55 win over their in-state rival.  In just their second contest away from home, the Lady Lions showed little discomfort on the road to start before feeling the pressure of playing away from Cave Arena in the second half though PC was able to hold off the Stormy Petrels for the eventual five-point road victory.

After OU took the lead on a free throw to start the scoring, Piedmont's Mary Kate Rushton connected on a step-back three pointer to give the Lady Lions their first lead of the day 97 seconds into the contest.  The two would trade the lead back and forth over the next ten minutes before a Chandler Alverson jumper at the midway point of the first half broke a 15-15 tie sending Piedmont in front by two as the Lady Lions would get comfortable with the advantage. 

Alverson's two-pointer with 10:13 remaining started a 13-3 run for Piedmont over the next five-plus minutes as the Lady Lions held a 28-18 lead with under five until the break. However, OU would go on to close the half on a run of their own outscoring PC 6-3 to bring the margin down to just seven at the half with Piedmont ahead 31-24.

The Stormy Petrels started the second half the way they ended the first half coming out of the locker room to go on a 8-2 run over the first three minutes of the second period to pull within one point of PC at 33-32.  With the pressure now placed firmly on the Lady Lions, it was the senior Lauren Hamel who slowed the run with her turn-around jumper in the paint to put Piedmont back up by three at 35-32. 

Moments after Hamel's trick shot down low, Taylor Swoszowski connected on a kick-out try from downtown doubling Piedmont's lead to six though OU was not quite ready to give up.  The Stormy Petrels scored seven of the next nine points to again make it a one possession game at 40-39 PC with a dozen minutes remaining.

At the 11:42 mark, it was again the senior Hamel who stepped up hitting from the free throw line to keep OU at bay.  However, the two would continue to trade shots for the next six minutes as Piedmont held a slim 51-49 lead with just over five minutes to go. 

The margin would stay small mostly throughout the closing minutes with Piedmont ahead by two and about two minutes remaining until a Lauren Hamel lay up made the score 57-53.  That score pushed the game to a two-possession affair with time winding down as the two squads traded free throws down the stretch.  

PC came out on the better end of the charity stripe game with Mary Kate Rushton's pair of free throw tries with five seconds to go proving the final margin at 60-55 Piedmont. 

Hamel had the big day for Piedmont scoring a season-high 17 points in 23 minutes of play as the senior shot 50% (6-of-12) from the field with all of her field goals coming inside the arc.  Hamel added three defensive rebounds and three assists to her stat line as well as a block.  Her previous season high was 11 points coming in the 2013-14 opener until today's breakout scoring performance.

Rushton was the only other Lady Lion in double figures with her 11 points three of which came on the Lady Lions' first points of the game.  Her final two points were also Piedmont's final two points as she connected on a pair of tries from the charity stripe to put Piedmont's final margin at five points.

Piedmont moves to 4-1 with the victory having earned the 60-55 win earlier today over Oglethorpe in the first game of the USA South / SAA Classic.  The Lady Lions won't have long to rest as they get back on the court tomorrow for their second contest in the inter-league challenge taking on the tourney host Vikings of Berry College.

Tip off against the Vikings is set for 4:00 pm.  Live audio and video coverage will be provided courtesy of the Office of Sports Information at Berry with links available on the schedule page of the Lady Lions.  Live stats also will be provided.