Final Score: Lipscomb: 59, No. 24 FGCU: 101
Location: Nashville, TN. (Allen Arena)
Records:  Lipscomb: (19-11, 13-5 ASUN), FGCU (29-3, 17-1 ASUN)

THE SHORT STORY

Lipscomb women's basketball held a five-point lead over No. 24 FGCU at the end of the first quarter, but the Bisons couldn't hold off the Eagle's high-powered offense, falling in their regular season finale Wednesday night. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

The Bisons got off to an ideal start, jumping to a 10-1 lead with 7:40 left in the first. Blythe Pearson led the charge for the Herd, knocking down a pair of triples in the first quarter and helping the squad start fast.

three ball to get us going #IntoTheStorm ??| #HornsUp ?? pic.twitter.com/fP4rfV4YRy

— Lipscomb Women's Basketball (@LipscombWBB) March 2, 2023

Lipscomb maintained the lead for the remainder of the frame as both teams traded blows. Claira McGowan put in her first points of the afternoon on a corner triple to extend the Bisons' lead to eight with 1:22 left in the first. 

BANG!#IntoTheStorm ??| #HornsUp ?? pic.twitter.com/Fxqnnld9Xu

— Lipscomb Women's Basketball (@LipscombWBB) March 2, 2023

FGCU trimmed their deficit to three with back-to-back three's but an Aleah Sorrentino jumper with six seconds remaining gave the Bisons a five points edge at the end of the quarter. 

No. 24 FGCU opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to take the lead and never looked back. The Eagles stretched their lead to 10 as they knocked down a slew of threes which continued throughout the rest of the night. 

FGCU outscored the Lipscomb 29-10 in the second quarter to take a 49-35 lead into halftime. The Bisons shot just 4-of-15 in the period, while the Eagles converted on 12-of-18 from the floor.

The Eagles continued to poor it on in the final two periods of the ball game. FGCU buried ten threes in the second half, which helped them stretch their lead even further. The Bisons were outscored 52-24 in the final two frames. 

Lipscomb could not keep themselves within striking distance, falling convincingly to the No. 24 ranked Eagles 101-59 at Allen Arena in their final regular-season game of the 2022-23 campaign. 

HERD NOTES

• Pearson, Sorrentino, and Heard reached double figures for the Bisons. 
• Lipscomb shot 39.3% from the floor and went 7-of-23 from deep. 
• Ainhoa Cea broke the record for assists by a freshman, finishing with five assists on the night. 
• Coach Sumski's squad finished 13-5 in conference play this season and earned the third-seeded in the 2023 ASUN Championships.

UP NEXT
Lipscomb will host No.6-seeded North Alabama in the Quarterfinals of the ASUN Championships on Sunday, March 5, at 6:00 p.m. CT.