RALEIGH, NC – It was the same story but a different game for the William Peace women's basketball team on Saturday as their shooting woes continued against LaGrange. WPU forced the Panthers to cough it up 23 times, but they only managed to shoot 23% (14-of-60) from the field and went on to lose, 60-45.
"It's a shame we put forth all that defensive effort but couldn't finish at the other end," said head coach Kelly Johnson. "We didn't rebound well and their height gave us some problems, but we have to step up and hit shots."
WPU (5-8, 2-5 USAS) put up nearly twice as many shots as the Panthers did, but when they were able to break the Pacer's press it led to easy buckets. LaGrange (12-5, 7-1 USAS) finished the game shooting 21-of-34 (61.8%) and also outrebound Peace, 41-27.
The Pacers came out of the gates flat and trailed by 16 points (25-11) with 6:36 left in the opening half, until a 9-0 swing brought them back to within seven (25-18) at the 3:27 mark. Hannah Landers drained the Panther's only three of the game the next time down the court, but Derrica Jones hit a pair of free-throws and Ka'la Jordan scored five straight to make it a three point game (28-25) right before half. Madison Barker's layup with five second left gave the Panthers a 30-25 edge heading into the break.
It was only a four point game (37-33) with less than 10 minutes to go, but a quick 6-0 run pushed the Panthers lead back to 10 (43-33) at the 8:15 mark. Jones hit a jumper with 4:18 left that brought WPU to as close as six points (47-41), but the Pacers didn't hit a field goal from that point on.
Jones led the way for WPU with a game high 18 points to go along with her eight rebounds and three steals, while Jordan also scored in double-figures with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, and four steals.
Kelsey Mitchell led LaGrange with 14 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals and blocked shot. Shaye Butler had 11 points and nine rebounds, while Kymberli Payno added 10 points and six boards.
The WPU women's basketball team will return to action tomorrow at the Hermann Athletic Center against the Hawks of Huntingdon College at 3:00 p.m. Video Coverage will be available with Patrick Johnson on the call for the Pacers Basketball Network 15 minutes prior to tip-off. You can also follow the game via Live Stats.
Stay up to date with William Peace Athletics via social media: Like us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
