Box Score Demorest, GA - The Piedmont College women's basketball team needed a late push to rally back from a 14-point second half deficit and overtake the visiting Avenging Angels of Meredith College 79-68 on Sunday afternoon in a USA South matchup.  The first home conference contest for the Lady Lions proved to be an exciting one for the fans in Cave Arena as the hometown crowd watched the girls in green and gold score 23 of the final 30 points in the game to come from behind and earn their second USA South win in as many games.

Piedmont got out to an early lead going on a 10-0 run to open the game sparked by a Gabby Arencibia three-pointer as the newcomer connected on 33% of her tries from downtown on the afternoon. 

However, after being held scoreless over the first three minutes, Meredith quickly went on a run of its own as Keyanka Bailey made two of her next three shots and saw her teammate McKenzi Edwards tie the game at 12-12 a little over six minutes into the half.

Another two-point shot gave the Avenging Angels their first lead of the game at 14-12 as Meredith was in the midst of a 26-2 run at that point which helped the visitors assume control of the game.  Meredith would stay in front for the remainder of the half though Piedmont worked to keep pace with the team from Carolina.

Down by nine with two minutes to go in the half, Mary Kate Rushton knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to four points.  However, the Avenging Angels continued to push the tempo scoring a three-pointer on their next possession to push the lead back up to ten which ended up as the margin at the halftime break, Meredith up 39-29.

After McKenzi Edwards of Meredith opened up the scoring in the second half, Taylor Swoszowski answered with two of her ten points on the day to keep the Lady Lions in the game.  Swoszowski did a little bit of everything on the afternoon tallying four assists and four steals to go with her ten points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.

With 13:56 to go, Brianna Barrett connected on a three-pointer to cut the margin down to a half dozen though Meredith continued to have answers for each Piedmont attempt at a rally as the Avenging Angels connected from downtown on their next possession to stay step-for-step with the home team.  For Piedmont to get back in front, they would need to see the defensive end step up to get a stop and swing the momentum.

Down 58-45 with 9:20 to play, Piedmont's Elise Reyes stepped to the line to knock down a pair of free throws for the first two points of a dramatic 20-4 run that surged the Lady Lions back in front capped off by back-to-back three's by Chandler Alverson and another by Brianna Barrett.

That tri-fecta with 4:56 remaining handed PC their first lead since the 14:58 mark of the second half ending a four-plus minute streak where Piedmont was five for nine from the field and connected on eight straight free throw attempts after getting to the line for only three tries in the first half.

With now the lead in hand, Piedmont would turn to Chandler Alverson to keep them in front as the sophomore scored nine of her game-high 20 points from that point forward including a clutch three with less than two minutes to play after a heads-up Taylor Swoszowski steal.  Her two free throws with 16 seconds remaining put Piedmont up comfortably 79-66 after the late surge.

A Meredith bucket with time winding down set the final at 79-68 in what was a thrilling USA South home opener for the Lady Lions who stay perfect in league play with the win.

Leading all scorers with her 20 points was Chandler Alverson who put on a clinic in the final five minutes to help seal the Piedmont victory.  Alverson was a perfect six for six at the charity stripe and tallied five assists to lead all Lady Lions while posting a new career high in the scoring column as the Dacula native is the first to score 20 points in a game since Symone Ball did so in a win over Birmingham Southern from earlier this season on November 23rd.

As one of three Lady Lions in double figures in the scoring column with her ten, Gabby Arencibia led Piedmont on the boards with her seven rebounds as Piedmont outworked the visitors on the glass in the second half 22-17 as a team.  Carly Sales had five rebounds to be second on the list while also picking up a trio of assists on the afternoon. 

Doing a little bit of everything was Taylor Swoszowski who led the team in steals with four while also finishing second on the team in assists with her four and tying for second in points with her ten which came on better than 57% shooting from the field.  Swoszowski came up with a big steal late to help seal the win while her shooter's-roll three-point bucket with just over eight minutes to go in the first half helped keep the Lady Lions in striking distance and set up the second half comeback.

The win moves Piedmont to now 8-3 on the season and a perfect 2-0 in USA South competition having won two straight in the league.  Two of Piedmont's three losses on the season have come by a combined six points while all three defeats have come when the Lady Lions allow 70 or more points.

The team now turns its attention to another away-home weekend in conference action when they travel to William Peace University in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, January 10th before returning home that following Sunday for a home USA South contest against North Carolina Wesleyan College.