ANDERSON, S.C. - On an afternoon where Anderson University women's basketball honored its three seniors for Senior Day, the trio combined for 25 points and 14 rebounds and helped seal the outright South Atlantic Conference regular-season championship for the second time in three seasons with a 74-54 victory over Queens Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
With the victory, the Trojans claim their 16th straight triumph and improve to 23-3 overall with a 20-2 mark in the conference, marking the first time in SAC history a team has won 20 league games. The 23 regular-season wins also marks the most AU has totaled since joining the SAC prior to the 2010-11 season. With the top seed in hand, the Trojans will host the opening round of next week's SAC Tournament.
In her final regular-season home contest, senior guard Lesley Woods paced the Black and Gold with 15 points, including four made 3-pointers. The guard made half of AU's treys on the afternoon, as AU finished the contest 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) from behind the arc.
Senior guard Sierra Simpson made the most of her Senior Day, as she totaled double figures for the ninth straight game with 10 points, while accumulating seven rebounds, seven assists and a career-high seven steals on the defensive end. With her 10 points, the guard is now just 16 points away from 1,000 for her storied career.
Junior Jasmine Franklin rounded out Anderson's double-figure scoring with her third double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The Simpsonville, S.C. native finished 5-for-7 from the floor and helped contribute to Anderson's 42.2 shooting percentage (27-for-64) for the game.
On the boards, senior Jaclyn Moore, who earned the start in her final regular-season contest inside the Abney Center, pulled down five rebounds, as the Trojans out-rebounded the Royals, 43-29, for the day. With the 43 rebounds, AU recorded 18 second-chance points, while holding the Royals to just six.
"I'm really happy for our three seniors because they have meant so much to this program," Anderson head coach Jimmy Garrity said. "I know everyone in our locker room wanted to send them out with a win today. In my pregame talk, there wasn't anything mentioned about winning a championship. We were only focused on doing whatever it takes to send this senior class out with a victory in front of their family and friends."
Queens was led by Lacey Singletary with 17 points, while teammates McKell Oliverio and Abby Pettit scored 12 and 10, respectively. The trio combined for 39 of the visitors' 54 points, as the Royals scored just eight bench points.
After Singletary connected on the game's first points on a jumper, Woods answered the brief deficit with a corner trey that handed the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. The 3-pointer began a 9-2 run by the home side, headlined by Woods' second 3-pointer of the game, while sophomore Alexis Dillard capped off the run with a lay-in. With the spurt, AU led 12-4 with 14:33 left in the opening period.
Anderson continued to add to its lead and recorded its largest advantage of 18 of the first half at the 5:19 mark when junior Jennifer Monroe dropped in a lay-up that closed a 9-0 run by the Black and Gold. Monroe eventually finished the afternoon with eight points and five rebounds.
Leading 33-15 following the Monroe basket, the Royals began to claw back into the game and scored the next 12 points, cutting into the double-figure lead. Anderson faced a scoring drought and went over four minutes without a field goal until junior Katie Davis knocked in a jumper from just inside the three-point arc with 43 seconds remaining to snap a 12-0 run by the visitors.
After junior guard Madison Floyd, who finished with eight points, followed the Davis bucket with a pair of free throws, Queens' Pettit drained the Royals' only 3-pointer of the half from the top of the key to set the halftime score at 37-30. In the final five minutes of the half, Queens out-scored Anderson, 15-4.
The momentum continued to be in favor of Queens in the early parts of the second half, as it brought its deficit to four through the first two minutes. After AU's Franklin scored on a fast-break lay-in to open the second half, the Royals scored the next five points, headlined by Pettit's second triple of the game, sending the score to 39-35.
Despite the small gap, Anderson responded with a 9-1 run over the next three minutes and recorded its first double-figure lead of the second stanza at 48-36. Within the spurt, Woods drained her third trey of the game that handed AU a double-digit lead it would not give up.
Holding Queens to just 11 made second-half field goals and forcing 10 turnovers, Anderson grabbed a 20-point advantage when Franklin dropped in another fast-break lay-in putting the Trojans up 61-40 with just under nine minutes to play. Moments later, Woods knocked in her final trey of the game to give Anderson its largest lead of 22 with 4:36 remaining.
Freshman guard Jasmine Raynor capped off the contest with a lay-up with under a minute left to set the final score at 74-54. As a team, AU made 12-of-13 from the free throw line, as it has recorded free throw percentages higher than 90 percent in two of its last three contests.
"I'm so proud of this team for committing themselves to one another day in and day out," Garrity said. "They truly care for one another on and off the court and that has played a major role in our success this year. Winning a championship is not easy and we will enjoy this tonight and start preparing for the tournament on Sunday."
Anderson shifts its focus to the postseason, as it welcomes eighth-seeded Mars Hill to the Abney Center on Wednesday. Tip-off with the Lions is scheduled for 7 p.m. with tickets prices ranging from $6 for adults and $3 for children under the age of 12. Student tickets will be $3 with their college ID.
