NASHVILLE – It was a memorable day for freshman
Hope Counts on Sunday afternoon inside Allen Arena, as she set the new blocks record for Lipscomb University Women's Basketball, as the Bisons pulled away in the fourth quarter with a 63-55 victory over the Lady Tigers of Tennessee State University to stop a four-game losing skid.
Final Score: Lipscomb 63, Tennessee State 55
Location: Allen Arena
Records: Lipscomb (3-6), Tennessee State (1-7)
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a slow start for both teams, but a steal by
Elena Bertrand at mid-court and a fast-break layup by
Molly Heard got the scoring started for the Bisons.
Maris Zurliene's 3-pointer and a
Hope Counts layup gave Lipscomb the 7-4 lead with 3:40 left in the opening period, but Tennessee State took the advantage with a layup off a turnover late in the quarter to lead 10-9 after one period.
Of Lipscomb's nine points, seven came off of TSU's five turnovers.
TSU had a four-point edge with under nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, but Lipscomb rallied back to tie the game with a 3-point field goal by
Olivia Vinson with 8:23 left in the period.
After Bertrand evened the score at 19 for the Bisons, the Lady Tigers went on an 8-3 run, scoring all of the points during the run on Lipscomb turnovers. Tennessee State forced 15 Lipscomb turnovers and used that advantage to take a 34-28 lead into the locker room.
The Bisons held the Lady Tigers to 1-of-7 from the floor in the first five-plus minutes of the third quarter, but the rim on the other end was also closed shut for the Bisons. Miller was able to use a second-chance layup thanks to a
Taylor Bowen offensive rebound to cut the score to 37-35 at the third quarter media break.
Trailing 39-35, Bertrand got the Bisons back in it with a three-point play to even the score at 39 with 3:25 left in the period, but TSU continued to pull away and got the lead back to four, 43-39.
However, Lipscomb saw two more free throws from Bertrand and field goals from Counts and
McKayla Miller, as they ended the quarter with a 7-0 run to take a three-point lead, the largest of the game at that point, 46-43, after three quarters of play.
Trailing 55-54 with four minutes left in the game, a jumper by Heard gave the Bisons the lead for good. Lipscomb finished the game with an 8-0 run, including two blocks from Counts, who had four of her 11 swats in the final quarter alone.
HERD NOTES
Hope Counts set the new Lipscomb record for blocked shots in a game with 11, shattering the previous record by Jess Reece against East Tennessee State on Feb. 19, 2011 when she had seven.
Counts had all 11 blocks for the Bisons in the win, marking the second time in the Division I era that the program swatted away 10 or more shots in a game. Also a Division I record, the 11 swats surpassed the 10 against East Tennessee State on Jan. 22, 2011.
Additionally, Lipscomb's 11 blocks in the win matched the program's record for blocks in a single game with their game against Union (Tenn.) from 1995.
Now with 27 blocks on the season, Counts is third all-time among first-year players in swats, one behind
Molly Heard's 28 in 2022-23. The freshman record is currently held by Reece with 44 in 2010-11.
KEY STATISTICS
It was nearly a triple-double for
Hope Counts, as she set new career highs in blocks (11) and rebounds (10). Six of her swats came in the second half, including four in the fourth quarter.
Molly Heard was one of three players in double figures for the Bisons, leading all scorers with 16 with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Elena Bertrand knocked 5-of-7 from the charity stripe in the win and finished with 14 points and added four thefts.
McKayla Miller added 10 points, while
Taylor Bowen posted nine boards and six points.
UP NEXT
The Bisons will play two more games in the 2025 calendar year, with the first being a trip to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana on Thursday at 11 a.m. EST / 10 a.m. CST.
