Women's Basketball Season Ends as Barton & Limestone Fall in NCAA DII SE Regional Quarterfinals

3/9/2012 12:00:00 AM

(Barton releases/results below followed by Limestone)

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Lady Bulldogs edged in NCAA Tournament first round

by Benny Benton

AIKEN, S.C.-The Barton College women's basketball team tenaciously fought back from a 15-point first-half deficit to within a single point in its NCAA Division II Southeast Regional appearance on Friday, but the Lady Bulldogs could not complete the comeback in falling to Wingate University, 64-59, at the USC Aiken Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C.

Barton's lone senior, Jannetta Robinson, completed her Barton career with a team-high 19 points, adding five rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Nyeshea Willie added a double-double, collecting 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three steals.

Nikki Burton led all scorers with 20 for Wingate, also nicknamed the Lady Bulldogs. Simone Rutledge added 10 points and eight boards for the South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament champions.

With the win, Wingate improved to 23-7 on the season and advanced to the tournament semifinals against either No. 2 seed Clayton State University or No. 7 seed Tusculum College. Barton, making its second straight NCAA tournament appearance, finished its season with a 21-9 mark.

"I'm very pleased with this group," coach Wendee Saintsing said. "We had our ups and downs this year, but we've beaten some very good teams. Toward the end of the year, we really got it focused and beat some of the top teams in our league. All in all, we had a successful year."

Trailing by double-digits at 39-28 with 14:39 to go in the game, Barton used consecutive 3-pointers by Robinson and a greater defensive intensity to fuel its comeback. Wingate turned the ball over on its next seven possessions, and when Elaine Morgan made a layup with 10:39 to play, Barton was as close as it had been since the opening tip, 39-38.

However, Burton scored the game's next four points, and Wingate maintained a lead between three and eight points until Janae Jackson's layup with 1:45 to go pulled Barton back within one again at 56-55.

Burton quickly gave Wingate another three-point cushion with a layup, and Faith Hunter missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer for Barton with 1:22 to go. Morgan grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball to Willie, who was fouled with 1:14 to play. Willie made one of her two free throws, cutting the Barton deficit to 58-56.

Wingate's Chantal Dunbar, who came off the bench to score 10 points in 17 minutes of action, missed a layup with 48 seconds to play, giving Barton another chance to tie or take its first lead of the contest. However, Willie was called for a double-dribble, and a Rutledge layup with 25 seconds to go effectively sealed the win for Wingate.

"We didn't have anyone step up to the ball to try and finish, but that's the pressure of the game," Saintsing said.

Wingate was 4-of-4 from the line in the last 11 seconds, including a pair by Sarah Wollett, who came off the bench to contribute nine points, seven rebounds and six assists in just 22 minutes of action.

For the game, Wingate was 16 of 18 (89 percent) from the line and 23 of 49 (47 percent) from the field.

Barton, meanwhile, struggled mightily with its shooting, making just 19 of 62 shots (31 percent). It missed its first 10 3-pointers of the game before the pair by Robinson midway through the second period started the rally.

Barton made up for its shooting with solid defense, forcing Wingate into 19 second-half turnovers and 30 for the game, which matched Wingate's season high.

"I was very proud of our kids for the way that we worked hard in the second half," Saintsing said. "I thought that we gave it a very good effort. We caused 30 turnovers for the game, including three in a row (down the stretch), but we were not able to capitalize on any of them and that hurt us. I give Wingate credit. They were able to score and execute and we weren't able to do that."

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Wingate Holds Off Second Half Barton Charge to Advance to Regional Semifinals

AIKEN, S.C. - The Wingate University Bulldogs led throughout the game to best the Barton College Bulldogs, 64-59, in the first game of the quarterfinal round in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Southeast Regional today at the University of South Carolina Aiken's Convocation Center.

Wingate led by 15 points in the first half with 4:18 remaining. The game looked as if it would turn Barton's way as guard Janetta Robinson hit a pair of three-pointers at the 13-minute mark, but South Atlantic Conference winner Wingate held onto its lead despite a series of steals and scores by Barton.

In the winner-takes-all contest to proceed in the regional, the game pulled to 58-56 with 1:14 remaining, and Wingate held on despite a three-point shot by Jeanetta Robinson with 5.2 seconds left. The game was won on field goals and free throws, as Wingate posted 23–for-49 to post a 46.9 percent mark in field goals for the game and an 88.9 percent mark in free throws. Barton shot 19-for-62 field goals and hit 73.9 percent of its free throws.

Leading scorer for Wingate (22-7) was Nikki Burton. She beat her season average of 14.4 points per game to toss up 20 points in the contest. Guard Simone Rutledge pulled down eight rebounds despite an injury. Sarah Wollett found 6 rebounds. Team total rebounds were 28.

Leading scorer for Barton (21-8) was Janetta Robinson, who garnered 19 points in the game. Sophomore guard Nyesha Willie contributed 16 points while leading the rebounding with 10 pulldowns.

Wingate plays the winner of the Clayton State University (28-3) vs. Tusculum College (17-10) game. The matchup in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 10 at the USCA Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C.

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By Ernest Meyers, Assistant Sports Information Director

3/9/2012 11:36:00 PM

Boxscore

AIKEN, S.C. – The Limestone College (25-7) women's basketball team rallied from a 14-point second half deficit to tie the game but their magical season would come to a close as they could not complete the comeback, falling to No. 24 Lander University (22-7) by a final of 77-68 Friday, March 9 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C.

Senior forward Kaileigh West (Jacksonville, Ill.) concluded her collegiate career with a double-double, recording 17 points and 12 rebounds, while senior guard Lauren Pace (Suwanee, Ga.) finished her stellar four-year career with 12 points and three assists. Junior guard Stephanie Hayes came close to finishing with a double-double, posting a team-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds.

Trailing 48-34 with 15:30 remaining in the game, a pair of layups by West and a three-point play the hard way by junior guard Tia Williams (Dacula, Ga.) sparked a 21-7 stretch that would get the Saints back into the ballgame. Hayes chipped in seven points during the surge before Pace connected on four straight points to make it a 55-55 affair with 7:13 remaining in the game.

Jasmine Judge (Augusta, Ga.) nailed a three on the other end to put Lander back on top, this time to stay, before Precious Elkins (Conyers, Ga.) and Ciara Lyons (Augusta, Ga.) hit consecutive layups to give the home team a 66-58 advantage just a few minutes later. Back-to-back drives to the hole by Hayes and an inside score by West would pull the Saints to within three points in the closing minute but a three-point play by Elkins put the final touches on the 77-68 win for the Bearcats.

The Saints found early success against Lander's full court pressure, getting six early points on wide open looks by West to stake the visitors to a 10-4 lead at the first media timeout. Junior guard Maria Young (Asheville, N.C.) gave the Saints a nine-point margin but three-balls by Mukia Myrick (Columbus, Ga.) and Judge powered a 12-0 run to give LU a 16-13 margin at the 9:56-mark.

The Blue and Gold stormed right back with a 13-2 run behind a pair of long range strikes by Young and an old-fashion three-point play by Hayes to give Limestone a 26-18 advantage two minutes later. However, Lander countered with a 30-8 run that spanned both halves as a pair of triples by Judge and back-to-back layups by Kaylyn Small (Augusta, Ga.) put the home team up 37-32 at the break.

A layup by Hayes at the 17:38-mark in the second half ended a six-minute field goal drought for the Saints but it was not enough to put a halt to the long run as a three-point strike by Judge and four straight points by Brittni Johnson (Athens, Ga.) gave Lander a comfortable 48-34 cushion.

For the game, Limestone shot 28-of-59 (47.5%) from the floor but went an uncharacteristic 5-of-17 (29.4%) from long range. The Bearcats went 44.3% from the field on 31-of-70 shooting. Both teams finished with 39 rebounds but Lander edged the Saints 40-34 in paint production and 13-7 in points off turnovers. The Blue and Gold held an 8-2 advantage in fast break points.

Elkins led the Bearcats with a double-double, finishing with 29 points and 12 boards, while Judge chipped in 15 points on five three-pointers. Johnson also collected a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.

Hayes posted 21 points to go with nine boards and five assists while West finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Pace registered 12 points and wraps up her career as the program's all-time career assists leader.

The 2011-12 Saints concluded the program's 30th season as arguably the best squad in team history. Limestone set records for most overall and conference wins in a season while clinching the first ever regular season and conference tournament titles in team history.

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Lander Downs Limestone to Advance to Regional Semifinals

Story by Bob Stoner & courtesy of host USC Aiken

AIKEN, S.C. – Precious Elkins scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Lander women's basketball team to a 77-68 victory over Limestone College Friday night in the quarterfinal round of NCAA Division II Southeast Regional held at USC Aiken's Convocation Center.

Lander, the No. 4 seed, improves to 22-7 and will face top-seeded USC Aiken at 7 p.m. in the second semifinal. USCA defeated eighth-seeded Catawba, 71-69. Limestone ends the season at 26-7.

Elkins connected on 14-of-19 field goals and made her only free throw. Brittni Johnson added a double-double of her own with 11 points and 10 assists, while Jasmine Judge netted 15 points on 5-of-8 three pointers.

Limestone was led by Stephanie Hays, who scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Kaileigh West had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Lauren paced added 12 points.

In a game that featured several long scoring runs by both teams, Lander broke a 55-55 tie with a Judge three with 6:47 left in the game and never trailed again.

After Ciara Lyons' fast break layup gave Lander a 60-55 lead with 6:26 to go, Limestone cut the Lady Bearcats lead to 68-65 following a three pointer and two layups by Hays with 1:20 left.

An Elkins three-point play put Lander up 73-67 with 42.1 seconds remaining and the Lady Bearcats finished the game at the foul line with Johnson and Lyons sinking two each.

The first half was one of scoring runs. After getting off to a 4-2 start, Limestone went on a 9-2 run to take a 13-4 lead which culminated with Maria Young's three pointer at 15:03.

Lander responded with a 12-0 run – on a pair of Elkins baskets, three pointers by Judge and Mukia Myrick, and a Kaylyn Small two-pointer – to go up 16-13 at 9:54.

After being tied at 16-all, Limestone outscored Lander 10-2 over the next two minutes to take a 26-18 advantage on Ashley Robinson's fast break layup with 6:30 left in the half.

The Lady Bearcats buzzed right back to tie the game at 30-all with 2:36 left on Elkins' put back and Lander finished the half out with a Judge three and a pair of Small buckets underneath to take a 37-32 lead to the lockerroom.

Lander outscored Limestone 11-2 to open the second half with Johnson's three pointer at 15:30 giving the Lady Bearcats a 48-34 lead.

The Saints marched right back with a 17-5 run to cut the Lady Bearcat lead to 53-51 on a Danielle Dixon bucket from underneath at 9:14.

After an Elkins basket put Lander up 55-51, the Saints came back to tie it up at 55-all following two free throws and a field goal by Pace at 7:06.

A Judge three and a Lyons fastbreak layup put the Lady Bearcats back up 60-55 at 6:26.

Lander connected on 31-of-70 field goals for 44.3 percent, including 9-of-26 threes for 34.6 percent. The Lady Bearcats sank 6-of-13 free throws for 46.2 percent.

Limestone was 28-of-59 from the field for 47.5 percent, including 5-of-17 threes for 29.4 percent. The Lady Saints sank 7-of-14 foul shots for 50 percent.