WILSON, NC--Going into their Friday night match-up on the road against Conference Carolinas regular season champion Barton College, the Anderson University Lady Trojans had lost twice to the Lady Bulldogs by a combined total of 28 points; but those two games did not involve a chance to go to the NCAA Division II tournament, nor did they involve a Lady Trojan team that defends and scores with a new kind of swagger. The AU women had that prowess on display Friday night as they beat Barton in dominating fashion 74-58, earning a trip to the Conference Carolinas Finals Sunday at Mount Olive. Keana Boyd led the Lady Trojans with 29 points on 6-10 shooting. Alexa Neal was the perfect compliment as she went for 21 points, hitting four of six from beyond the arc. while Boyd and Neal helped to score, it was how the Lady Trojans played on the other end that proved to be the big difference. "Tonight was all about defense," said Trojan head coach, Jim Brunelli. "When you can get that kind of defensive effort out of these girls, success is inevitable." The Lady Trojans' fortress-like defense was led by 6'4" senior center, Kirsten Peterson. Peterson had a game-high 15 boards to go along with 3 blocks, and 7 points. Shanice Wilson and Alexa Neal both had 2 steals, and the Lady Trojans held the regular season champs to only 26.7% shooting from the field--a season low. Esty Flores led the Lady Bulldogs with 23 points and Sara Fleming finished with 16. Barton likely has not seen their last action of the year as they should receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. For the Lady Trojans, it is win or go home; but that is what this team has been doing. The AU women have won 10 out of their last 12 contests, with those two losses in February coming to Barton and Mount Olive. The Lady Trojans had a chance against Mount Olive in the Abney Center on February 7, but Kirsten Peterson had the ball swatted away near the free throw line with just 2 seconds remaining, and MOC escaped with a narrow three-point victory. After going into the "Dog House" in Wilson, NC and never allowing the Lady Bulldogs to lead, AU will head to Mount Olive with that same swagger; The Conference Carolinas Championship is set for Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 pm. Complete Box Score