FAIRFIELD, Ala. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) women's basketball team accepted a 63-53 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) West Division road loss to the Miles College Golden Bears on Thursday evening at Knox-Windham Gymnasium.
The West Division-leading Golden Bears (17-7; 12-4 SIAC West) took a 12-9 advantage into the 2
nd quarter where SHC briefly rallied to grab a 13-12 lead at the 6:16 mark following layups by freshman forward
Tyashia Bostick and junior guard
Angel Benson. Unfortunately for Spring Hill, all those actions did was poke the Bears into a 10-8 run over the half's final four minutes, resulting in a 22-21 Miles lead at the intermission.
In the 3
rd quarter, the two teams fought to a 20-20 draw as Miles would hold a 42-41 edge heading into the final 10 minutes of play. The Bears would close out the contest and secure the SIAC West Division Regular Season crown with a 21-12 run.
Senior forward
Tiffany Valentine of Houston, Texas, recorded a double/double with 19 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out while senior shooting guard
Elise Reilly of Covington, La., added 10 points.
As a team, the Badgers shot 40% (18-45) from the floor and 20% (3-15) from beyond the 3-point arc. SHC lost the ball 25 times against 15 steals by the Bears defense that led to a 10-7 bulge in favor of Miles in points-off-turnovers. The Badgers knocked down 87.5% (14-16) of their free throw opportunities and controlled the board by a 38-25 margin in rebounding.
Victoria Sutton paced the Golden Bears with 16 points as Miles shot 40.4% (23-57) from the field and 21.4% (3-14) from 3-point range. The Golden Bears scored on 73.7% (14-19) of their free throws and lost 14 turnovers to seven steals by the Badgers.
The Badgers (9-17, 8-8 SIAC West) next visit the LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) Lady Magicians (10-13; 6-9 SIAC West) in Memphis, Tenn., at Bruce-Johnson Hall on Saturday beginning at 5:30 p.m.
