ITTA BENA, MS. –  Blythe Pearson logged 18 points, and Claira McGowan followed with 15 in the Bisons' 64-55 road win over the Devilettes Monday afternoon. The Bisons outscored Mississippi Valley State 14-7 in the fourth quarter after holding a two-point lead entering the final period, leading to their third road win of the season and improving to 4-2 overall. 

The Bisons shot 22-of-69 from the floor and 10-of-40 from three-point range in Monday's win. Lipscomb dominated the glass, out-rebounding MVSU 53-36 with 21 offensive boards. Aleah Sorrentino led the Bisons with a season-high 13 boards, followed by Bella Vinson who snagged down 10. 

Lipscomb got off to an early 6-1 lead, but the Devilettes answered, scoring the following six points to take a 7-6 lead in the first. The Bisons responded with a seven-point stretch, ending at the 1:21 left mark in the period, but the MVSU put in a second chance layup with under a minute to end the frame with an 18-11 advantage the Bisons' way. Pearson was responsible for nine of the Bisons' 18 in the quarter, with all three of her baskets coming from deep. 

Lipscomb stretched their lead to as much as 10 in the second, 24-14, but the Devilettes answered with an 11-point scoring run to take a one-point lead with 3:09 in the first half. After a second-chance layup from Vinson gave the Bisons a four points-edged, MVSU connected on a jumper just outside the painted area with 29 seconds remaining for a 29-27 lead entering which held into the halftime break. The Devilettes outscored the Bisons 16-11, scoring nine of their 16 points of turnovers.

Neither team gained control in a third quarter that had four lead changes and six ties. Claira McGowan caught fire in the third, putting up 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with two triples. The Devilettes' Sh'Diamond McKnight, kept her squad in contention, pouring in 15 points in the quarter, including all three of her team's three-pointers in the period. Still, the Bisons held on to a two-point edge entering the final quarter. 

Lipscomb outscored the MVSU 14-7 in the fourth quarter which made all the difference in the tightly contested affair. After the Devilettes evened the score at 52 on their opening possession of the fourth, Lipscomb went on a six-point scoring tilt on back-to-back triples from Pearson. After a made free throw from the Devilettes, Ainhoa Cea found herself wide open under the basket after an offensive rebound and finished inside to keep the Bisons comfortably in front. 

Lipscomb controlled possession with a nine-point lead and eventually came out of the contest on top in a 64-55 final. The Bisons forced the Devilettes into just two made baskets in the final 10 minutes, ending 2-of-14 from the floor and 0-of-5 from deep, after heating up from three-point range in the third. 

HERD NOTES:

• Lipscomb made a living off second-chance opportunities, outscoring the Devilettes in that department 19-4. 
• The Bisons' bench provided much-needed scoring against MVSU, collectively logging 23 points compared to none by the Devilettes.
• Claira McGowan's 15 point performance tied her season-high. She also logged 15 points against Evansville a few weeks ago. 
• Bella Vinsons' 10 rebounds mark a career-high for the junior combined with seven points on Monday.
• The win marked the second over the Devilettes all-time. 

UP NEXT: 
Lipscomb will travel to Johnson City, Tennessee, on Thursday, Nov. 30. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT, with the contest airing on ESPN+. Continue to check lipscombsports.com and the team's social media accounts, @lipscombwbb on IG and @lipscomb_wbb on X, for the most up-to-date information on Lipscomb women's basketball.