COLUMBIA, Ky.- The Blue Raider women's basketball team defeated Cumberland (Tenn.) 97-74 in their Mid-South Conference home opener in Biggers Sports Center Saturday afternoon.
Saniyah Shelton picked up a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists.
Meadow Tisdale,
Jarie Thomas,
Taylor Guess Amelia Hodges, and
Claire Fleming rounded out the double-figure scoring with 15, 14, 13, 10, and 10 points, respectively.
Lindsey Wilson started the first quarter on a 5-0 run on a layup and-one from
Meadow Tisdale at 9:04, followed by a
Jarie Thomas jumper at 8:38, both assisted by Shelton. Shelton connected on a jumper at 7:57 to increase the lead to 7-2. Shelton picked up her third assist on the night after finding a cutting Tisdale at 6:17 for a 9-4 advantage. Cumberland cut the lead to 9-6 on a layup from Ty Buckley at 5:56, but was quickly answered by a three from Hodges on an assist from Shelton for a 12-6 edge. Cumberland closed the quarter on an 8-4 run, cutting the Blue Raider lead to 16-14.
23 seconds into the second quarter, Shelton picked up her fifth assist of the night after finding an open
Emma Barnett on the wing for three to grow the Blue Raider lead to 19-14. From 8:37 to 3:26, both teams traded baskets until Guess grabbed an offensive rebound and put back, followed by a free throw to extend the lead to 33-26 with 2:32 on the clock. Lindsey Wilson closed the half on a 9-4 run for a 42-32 advantage headed into the locker room.
Thomas connected on a jumper at 9:00, followed by a jumper from Shelton at 8:29 to extend the lead to 46-32. Fleming found Thomas at 6:06 on a layup, growing the lead to 52-39. Lindsey Wilson closed out the third quarter on a 16-8 run to head into the final ten minutes of action ahead 68-47.
Cumberland opened the final ten minutes on a 6-2 run to shrink the Blue Raider lead down to 70-54. Shelton picked up another assist, throwing a full-length of the court pass to Hodges for an easy lay in, growing the lead to 72-54 with 7:44 on the clock. Lindsey Wilson went on to outscore Cumberland 29 to 27 in the fourth quarter to pick up the 97-74 win.
Women's hoops will be back in action on Thursday at 5:30 P.M. CT in Biggers Sports Center against No. 7 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.).
