ANDERSON, S.C. - Despite seeing an early first-half deficit, No. 17 Anderson University women's basketball found its shooting stroke in the second half and held off Queens, 68-54, in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
With the victory, the Trojans improve to a perfect 4-0 overall record for the first time since becoming a four-year institution and 2-0 in league play. On the opposite end, the Royals saw their fourth straight setback and moved to 2-5 on the year with a 0-2 mark in the SAC.
Junior guard Nakia Young paced the Black and Gold with her career-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line. Fellow guard Heather Jankowy followed with 17 points, matching her season high, headlined by four 3-pointers. Senior guard Madison Floyd rounded out AU's double-figure scorers with 11 points with three 3-pointers, as Anderson closed the contest 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
As a team, the Trojans were led by their guard play as 57 of the team's 68 points came from their guards.
Highlighted by Young's 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line, the Trojans recorded a 19-for-21 (90.5 percent) tally from the charity stripe, marking the first time AU has shot over 90 percent from the free-throw line since Feb. 28, 2015 when it knocked off the Royals in last year's regular-season finale. Freshman Tamia Eatmon ended the game 7-for-8 from the line to close her afternoon with nine points, while Floyd and Jennifer Monroe added perfect 2-for-2 marks.
Anderson out-rebounded Queens, 38-25, as the Trojans pulled down 23 defensive boards, limiting the Royals to 11 second-chance points. In addition to winning the battle underneath, AU tallied 22 points inside the paint, compared to the Queens' 18.
"This was a really good win for us and I have to give Queens a lot of credit for coming in here and playing a tough game," Anderson head coach Jimmy Garrity said. "I'm really proud of the way we rebounded the ball today. We did a great job on the offensive glass, leading to second-chance points."
The Royals opened the first quarter by scoring the first four points, as Anderson could not find the scoreboard until the 7:34 mark when Monroe converted on a pair of free throws. Despite the free throws, Queens maintained its lead throughout the opening period until Floyd drained AU's first trey of the game from the wing to even the score at 15-15 to close the first quarter.
The visitors continued to add to their lead in the second quarter, taking a commanding advantage at 24-17 when McKell Oliverio drained a 3-pointer from the wing. Despite the lead, AU answered with the next seven points to even the score at 24-24. Within the run, Young scored the first five points capped off with her first 3-pointer of the contest.
After the spurt, Anderson out-scored the Royals, 11-6, and took a 35-30 lead into the halftime break. Following a slow start, the Trojans shot 43.3 percent (13-for-30) for the first half.
"In the first quarter, we had a difficult time guarding them," Garrity said. "We settled down about midway through the second quarter and did a much better job executing our offense. Nikki (Nakia) did a great job keeping us in the game in the first half. She was hard to guard and did a great job making plays."
After the break, Anderson opened the third period with an 8-2 run to earn its first double-figure lead of the game at 43-32. Jankowy headlined the run with a 3-pointer and a traditional three-point to play to give her six quick second-half points. The Trojans limited Queens to just 12 second-half rebounds and just 12 points in the third and fourth quarter to seal the victory. Jankowy shined during the final 20 minutes, scoring 15 of her 17 points in the half.
"We made some adjustments at halftime on the way we wanted to defend them," Garrity said. "We played much better defensively in the second half and it was big that we started making some outside shots, which got them out of their zone."
Anderson continues conference play on Tuesday when it heads to Tusculum for its first SAC road test of the season. Tip-off at Pioneer Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m.
