Mary Baldwin MBU 2-11,1-5 USA South

William Peace WPU 4-8,2-4 USA South

Mary Baldwin MBU

2-11,1-5 USA South

Final

Jan. 06, 2024

William Peace WPU

4-8,2-4 USA South

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Mary Baldwin MBU	21	8	14	17	60
William Peace WPU	23	12	20	15	70

Summary
Box Score

Carly Vadinsky

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 1/5/2024 2:29:00 PM | WPU Athletic Communications

Ellison's 33 Points, 24 Rebounds, 11 Steals Lift Pacers Over Mary Baldwin

RALEIGH, N.C. – Head Coach Lori Drake of William Peace was under the weather on the bench during Saturday's women's basketball matchup against Mary Baldwin.

She felt much better after the outcome. The Pacers snapped a four-game losing skid with one of their best efforts of the season in a 70-60 USA South Conference victory.

"This makes me feel much better," said Drake, smiling. "Today is a great win for us. Our goal is to go 5-0 over the next five games and this is a great start for us. Everybody showed up today. Everybody put in the effort and "T" was incredible for us."

That's "T" as in standout guard Tanaesha Ellison, who led the way an eye-popping performance at the Hermann Athletic Center.

The Asheboro, N.C., native dazzled the crowd as she put up Wilt Chamberlain-type numbers: 33 points, 24 rebounds and 11 steals. She added four assists for good measure. The 24 rebounds set a William Peace single-game record.

Her relentless energy on both ends of the floor rubbed off on her teammates. They forced 24 turnovers and turned many of them into points (24). The 24 forced turnovers and 13 steals were each one away from a season-high in both categories.

The Pacers (2-4 USA South, 4-8 overall) trailed only once and eventually built a 16-point lead in the third period. The only flaw was late in the fourth when they relaxed and Mary Baldwin (1-5 USA South, 2-11 overall) closed within seven points around the two-minute mark. Ellison shut the door on a Fighting Squirrels' comeback with two rebounds, two free throws and two steals down the stretch for the astonishing triple double.

Though the numbers were mind-boggling, Ellison was more impressed with how the Pacers played as a unit.

"I was honestly surprised when I heard the stats," said Ellison, the USA South leading scorer and rebounder. "We all shared the ball, we all played as a team and we were getting easy baskets here and there running in transition. We were scoring when we had the opportunity. I was shocked at how many rebounds I had. I was just crashing the boards, doing the boxout drills that our coach goes through every day at practice and just being aggressive. We played as a team, we looked like we had chemistry. My team had my back and I couldn't do it without them for sure."

Nautica Smiley added nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Hannah Lewis also scored nine points and Brene'a Daye finished with seven points. Allye Woodruff and Ja'Naisja Baker each scored six points. In addition to forcing 24 turnovers, the Pacers limited Mary Baldwin to 37.1 percent shooting to sweep the season series.

Aryauna Brent scored 18 points and A'Cetta Farrait had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Fighting Squirrels, who connected on 3 of 13 three-pointers for 23.1 percent.

The Pacers return to the Hermann Athletic Center on Tuesday, Jan. 9, against Salem in a USA South Conference contest. Game time is 5 p.m.

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