January 11, 2007

Boxscore

LAURINBURG, N.C.—Junior Erika Thompson (Kalamazoo, Mich.) led three St. Andrews Presbyterian College players in double-digits with a game-high 16 points en route to a 69-55 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference victory over Belmont Abbey College Thursday night in Harris Court.

The Lady Knights (8-2 overall; 5-1 CVAC) high pressure defense caused 28 turnovers by the visitors to stay undefeated at home (5-0). SAPC entered this week ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division II in defensive field goal percentage and they lowered that number on Thursday, limiting the Crusaders (5-7 overall; 2-4 CVAC) to 14-of-46 (30.4%) shooting from the floor. St. Andrews shot 22-for-55 (40.0%) for the day.

Abbey built an early 15-8 lead and maintained a slim advantage for most of the first period. BAC continued to lead 21-16 after the fourth different Crusader hit a three-pointer with 4:40 left in the opening stanza. However, it was the last point for Belmont Abbey, as SAPC ended the half with a 10-0 run to take a 26-21 halftime advantage.

SAPC held the Abbey to 25% shooting and the Lady Knights made 34% of their attempts while also converting 15 BAC turnovers into 10 points. Senior Marquita Prichard (Havelock, N.C.) scored eight of her season-high 14 points in the first half to lead all scorers into the locker room

The Knights maintained a comfortable advantage out of the intermission and a jumper by Prichard extended the St. Andrews lead to the largest of the game, 45-30, with over 12 minutes left.

The Crusaders responded with a 15-0 run over the next 5-plus minutes using full-court pressure that led to five Knights turnovers. Freshman Kelsey Daniel (Douglas, Ga.) provided the defensive spark with four steals over the span that led to her scoring six points.

St. Andrews regained its composure and quickly built back a double-digit lead with a 12-1 run over the next 3:30. This time the Lady Knights kept the big cushion and rolled to the 14-point victory in the final minutes.

Thompson also had five rebounds and a team-high four steals to go along with her 16 points output. Foggie logged 11 points and five boards while Prichard had 14 points and four rebounds. Junior April Johnson (McColl, S.C.) tallied nine points before fouling out. Both senior Ashley Mitchell (Washington, D.C.) and junior Danielle Norman (Bronx, N.Y.) had seven points and three assists. Norman finished with a team-high eight rebounds.

Freshman Coutney Naquin (Virginia Beach, Va.) led the Crusaders with 10 points. Freshman Hannah Lunt (Weare, N.H.) followed with nine points and a team-high eight boards. Daniel finished with seven points and a team-high four steals. Sophomore Marie Marquez (Greenville, S.C.) had a game-high four helps to go along with five points and four boards.

St. Andrews will make its longest conference road trip of the season, traveling to Banner Elk, N.C., on Saturday. The Lady Knights will battle CVAC rival Lees-McRae College at 2:00 p.m. Belmont Abbey hosts league foe Coker College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.