Spring Hill College got the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference portion of its schedule started on the right foot Saturday afternoon, knocking off Paine College, 80-58, at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center.
Twelve different Spring Hill players scored in the romp, topped by a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double by reigning SIAC Player of the Week
Tiffany Valentine.
With the win, the Badgers are now 3-1 at home this season and stopped a slide of two straight losses (one exhibition, one regular season) and four setbacks in their last five outings.
Spring Hill (5-5, 1-0) spotted Paine (0-9, 0-3) the first six points of the game before going on a 15-4 run to go up 15-10 on a
Mathilde Nicolas 3-pointer with 3:35 to go in the opening quarter. The Lions scored six straight points of their own, but an
Elise Reilly 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds of the period gave the Badgers an 18-16 advantage after the initial stanza.
Spring Hill continued its surge in the second quarter, opening the period with a 9-1 run to lead 27-17 after a Nicolas jumper with 6:36 showing on the clock. A 10-2 burst by Paine got the Lions back to within 29-27 with 1:00 to go before halftime, but back-to-back baskets by Valentine sent the Badgers to the locker room with a 33-27 halftime lead.
Paine closed to within four points multiple times in the third quarter, the final time coming at 44-40 after Camille Cunningham drained a pair of free throws with 4:00 to go in the period. However, Spring Hill responded with a 10-0 run of its own - keyed by 3-pointers from Reilly and Nicolas - to widen its lead back out to 54-43 by the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter was all Spring Hill, as the Badgers outscored the Lions, 26-15, to turn the game into a blowout and snap their losing streak. Spring Hill limited Paine to just 32.8 percent shooting (22-for-67) overall, including 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Badgers drained 10 3-pointers in the victory and also outrebounded Paine, 57-39, and had almost as many offensive rebounds (20) as the Lions did defensive rebounds (25).
Reilly stuffed the boxscore for the Badgers with 15 points (all coming on five 3-point baskets), eight assists and seven rebounds. Also reaching double figures was Nicolas, who had 12 points, six rebounds and two steals,
Esther Stokely pitched in a solid nine points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals in an efficient 25 minutes of work and
Zareia Ector finished with seven points, seven rebounds and two assists in only 15 minutes.
Keondra Archie was the only Paine player to get to double figures, posting a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and three steals.
Spring Hill is back in action Monday, hosting Benedict in another SIAC matchup. Tipoff at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center is set for 5:30 p.m.
