NASHVILLE – Lipscomb women's basketball came up short in their Thursday matchup against FGCU (16-5, 6-0 ASUN), falling 75-54 inside Allen Arena. The Bisons kept pace with the conference's top team, but FGCU went on a sizable run at the end of the fourth quarter to hand Lipscomb (11-8, 4-2 ASUN) its second conference loss of the season.
Blythe Pearson ended as the Bisons' leading scorer, going for 15 points and seven rebounds on the night. Aleah Sorrentino was a point off, scoring 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Molly Heard also reached double-digits against the Eagles, finishing with 11 points, going 5-of-7 on her attempts, with two assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
FGCU got off to a 9-3 lead early, but Lipscomb quickly erased their deficit to even the score at 9-all on a layup from Molly Heard.
The Eagles would eventually take a slight lead and keep it throughout the first quarter. FGCU took a 22-17 edge on two free throws with a little over a minute left in the first period, a score that held until the end of the frame.
Lipscomb continued to fight, withstanding several attempts at runs from the Eagles. Lipscomb drew within one (25-24) on a jumper inside the paint from Aleah Sorrentino at the 6:08 minute mark.
However, the Eagles managed to take advantage of a Bisons scoring drought to close the quarter. FGCU managed to stretch their lead to nine (37-28) at the half.
After no scores in the first minute of the second half, FGCU connected on a three-pointer, which stretched their lead out to 12, the biggest lead for the Eagles up to that point.
The Bisons and Eagles jockeyed back and forth in the third quarter, but Lipscomb was able to cut into the Eagle's lead slightly, ending the quarter down by seven.
Pearson cut the Lipscomb deficit to six on a three-pointer, the first three-pointer of the night for the Bisons with 1:48 left in the frame.
Moments later, Bella Vinson knocked down two free throws, her first two points of the night, held the Eagles without a point for the final minutes, and changed for a 50-43 score heading into the last ten minutes.
A Sorrentino jumper in the paint cut the lead down to eight again in the fourth quarter with 7:28 left to play, but FGCU answered with six straight points to take a 14-point lead.
Pearson buried her second three-pointer of the night on the Bisons' next possession, but FGCU closed the fourth on a 12-2 run and came out with the win in Nashville 75-54.
HERD NOTES:
- Lipscomb shot an even 40 percent from the floor on the night.
- FGCU out rebounded the Bisons 47-22 and outscored the Bisons in the paint 46-36.
- Lipscomb was only 2-12 from three-point range.
- Aleah Sorrentino scored in double figures for the fourth straight matchup.
- Blythe Pearson extended her three-point basket streak to nine consecutive games.
UP NEXT:
Lipscomb will look to bounce back quickly as they host Stetson on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tip-off in Allen Arena is set for 2 p.m. CT. The matchup will be streamed 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.
