Anderson, S.C. – No. 21 Anderson University women's basketball claimed its first home victory of the regular season and a coveted Beville Cup point with a 79-63 victory over archrival Erskine Wednesday evening at the Abney Center.
The Trojans earned their 15th straight victory over the Flying Fleet in the longstanding rivalry while moving to 2-1 on the young season. Erskine, which drops to 1-2, has not beaten AU since the 2005-06 season.
COACHES CORNER
"I was happy that in the second half we did a good job of getting the ball inside," said head coach Jonathon Barbaree. "Sometimes the shots are not going to fall, but a great team will find a way to still score. We have to keep working, especially at the line. That's one area that has to improve as we move forward."
INSIDE THE BOX
-At the half, Anderson was shooting 32.4% (11-34) from the field, 60.0% (9-15) from the free throw line and 14.3% (2-14) behind the arc. Senior Alexis Dillard led the team in points and rebounds with 9 and 7, respectively.
-For the game, Dillard recorded her second double-double of the season while putting up career numbers in both points and rebounds. Dillard eclipsed her previous career best (21) by pouring in 26 on 9-of-9 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. The native of Taylors, S.C. bettered her mark of 13 rebounds (six times) by grabbing 18 on the evening. Dillard nearly equaled her career block total for a game (6), swatting away five on the night. Senior Jasmine Franklin scored 16 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Senior Nakia Young chipped in 10 to round out the double figure scoring for the Black and Gold.
-As a team, the Trojans shot 38.0% (27-71) from the field, 66.7% (20-30) from the free throw line and 20.8% (5-24) from 3-point land while committing 22 turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Trojans opened up the scoring first on a made layup by Franklin assisted by senior Heather Jankowy with the Flying Fleet tying the score twice in the first three minutes of play.
Erskine suffered a six minute scoring drought with Anderson reeling off 14 straight to claim 19-5 lead with just under 2 minutes to play in the first quarter.
The Fleet were able to draw the score back to seven, 19-12, putting together a 7-0 run of their own.
Second Quarter
Anderson pushed its lead to eight on a made jumper by Dillard at the 6:16 mark with freshman Madison Baggett giving the Trojans its largest lead of the second quarter, 10, on a made free throw.
The Trojans and Erskine both scored 14 points in the second quarter to keep the lead at seven, 33-26, heading into the half.
Third Quarter
Right out of the half, the Trojans went on a 12-0 run to push the lead back to 14, 48-34. Anderson saw its lead hit 15 twice with a layup by freshman Alex Mollenhauer at the 1:58 mark and on a last second 3-point basket by Jankowy to end the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Trojans kept the throttle down not letting the Fleet get any closer than 13 points with its largest lead of the game reaching 19, 73-54, with 3 minutes to go in the contest.
Erskine would cut the lead to 14 with 40 seconds remaining but a layup by Baggett with 20 seconds to go would set the final score, 79-63.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE GAME
Anderson had three returners post career numbers with Dillard's 26 points and 18 rebounds, senior Bailey Sims eight points and sophomore Sara Goble's three assists.
NOTABLES
Dillard moved up to the 5th spot in Anderson's all-time career list for defensive rebounds while Franklin moved up to the 8th slot in all-time career offensive rebounds.
UP NEXT
Anderson will begin a four-game round swing when it travels to Southern Wesleyan on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
