NASHVILLE – Lipscomb returned to Allen Arena for a home contest for the first time in nearly a month as they hosted Johnson (Tenn.) out of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) (6-5, 4-2 AAC). The Bisons buried a season-high 16 three-pointers, 11 coming in the first half, tying a program record for a half. With the 85-49 win, the Bisons improved to 6-3 and have tied the program record for non-conference wins in a season.
Three Bisons reached double-figures in the win over the Royals, with 11 Bisons scoring Thursday afternoon. Lipscomb was led by Blythe Pearson, who put up 14. Taylor Bowen and Olivia Vandergriff earned career-highs in the outing, with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Bisons shot the long ball early and often against the Royals, knocking down five three-pointers in the first quarter. Lipscomb shot the ball efficiently overall, connecting on 9-of-17 shots in the first ten minutes, which guided them to a 26-14 lead after one quarter.
Lipscomb continued to let it fly from beyond the arc, knocking down six threes in the second period, which helped them stretch their lead to as much as 28 in the second quarter. The Bisons went an even 10-of-20 from the floor in the second, finishing the half-shooting 51 percent.
Pearson led the charge, going 4-of-7 from deep in the first half, scoring all her 14 points in the frame. Bowen put of 10 of her 13 in the first half and 3-of-4 from deep.
The Bisons would get their bench players some valuable minutes in the second half. The bench combined for 47 of the Bisons 85 points on the afternoon and 25 of the Bisons 33 in the second half. Vandergriff led the Bisons in the second half with seven, while Kamil Collier tallied six in the final half. Lipscomb outscored the Royals 33-23 in the second half, leading to an 85-49 win in the first meeting between Lipscomb and Johnson (Tenn.).
HERD NOTES:
- Freshman guard Elena Bertrand logged six points and seven rebounds against the Royals.
- Freshman forward Isabella Pitta scored her first points as a Bison.
- The Bisons won the rebound battle over the Royals 48-30, including 21 offensive rebounds, tied for the most for the team in a game this season. Their 21 offensive rebounds led to 17 second-chance points in the contest.
- The Bisons shot 43.2 percent for the game as a team and 35.6 percent from deep.
- Lipscomb had nine steals against the Royals and scored 31 points off turnovers.
UP NEXT:
Lipscomb will battle Chattanooga in Allen Arena on Thursday, December 14, at 6:00 p.m. CT 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.
