NASHVILLE – Five Bisons reached double-figures in women's basketball's 76-65 victory over Bellarmine (5-9, 0-2 ASUN) Saturday afternoon. Claira McGowan continued her hot stretch of games, scoring 19 points to lead the Bisons and added on seven rebounds.
The Bisons (9-6, 2-0 ASUN) have extended their win streak to three, and have started conference play 2-0 for the third straight season.
Blythe Pearson, Molly Heard, Ainhoa Cea, and Bella Vinson were the other four players to hit double-digits in the showing. Pearson was the next-highest performer for the Bisons, logging 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and eight rebounds.
Her biggest impact came in the fourth quarter, as she totaled nine points and grabbed three rebounds.
Cea logged a career-high 12 points on the afternoon plus four assists and a team-high three steals. Cea had an electric third quarter for the Bisons, going on a personal 8-0 run.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first half was a tightly contested ball game between the Bisons and Knights on Saturday. Neither team could stretch a lead out, with each team's largest advantage being just three points after 20 minutes.
Bellarmine's Hope Sivori banked home a three-pointer at the first quarter buzzer, resulting in a 15-15 score at the end of the frame. More of the same occurred in the second quarter, resulting in an even halftime score as well.
Lipscomb started their first promising run at the beginning of the second quarter, scoring seven straight, which ended on a McGowan three-pointer with 6:14 left on the clock. However, the Knights quickly cut their deficit to one and eventually, they took a three-point lead in the period.
The Bisons managed to regroup in the remaining minutes of the second quarter to even the score at 33-all. Claira McGowan led the Bisons in the second with six points on 2-of-3 shooting.
In the first half, both teams were held to less than 36 percent shooting from the floor. The Bisons went just 3-of-16 from three-point range before halftime.
Lipscomb opened the third quarter with a 14-4 run, eight coming from Cea, and all coming on drives to the basket. The Bisons used a 10-0 run during that span to take full control.
However, in the final minutes of the frame, the Knights rallied to cut their deficit to six entering the fourth. Bellarmine continued to rally and fought back to even the score at the 6:30 mark, erasing their double-digit deficit.
Coach Sumski called her squad for a timeout to discuss things, sparking a game-winning response from the Bisons, which started on the defensive end. Lipscomb held the Knights to six points for the rest of the game.
Offensively, the Bisons shot 5-of-9 from the floor in the final frame, but more importantly, sunk ten free throws down the stretch. Blythe Pearson led the teams final surge with nine points, including two dagger three-pointers to help seal the deal.
With 30 seconds remaining, Pearson closed the ball game out with two free throws to go up 11 for a 76-65 final score, and another victory in the opening week of conference play.
HERD NOTES:
- The Bisons shot 39.4% from the floor against the Knights
- Coach Sumski's squad hit seven threes in the outing. The Bisons are now 7-1 this season when hitting seven or more three-pointers.
- Lipscomb scored 21 points on Bellarmine turnovers, and outscored the Knights in the painted area 36-26.
- The win was the fifth for the Bisons at home this season.
- Lipscomb improved to 5-1 all-time over Bellarmine and have now won two straight.
- McGowan extended her double-digit scoring streak to four straight games with her performance Saturday.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW WITH COACH SUMSKI AND CLAIRA MCGOWAN:
UP NEXT:
Lipscomb will now enter a three-game road stretch, starting with a trip to Conway, Arkansas, to take on Central Arkansas on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. CT. 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.
