Charlotte, N.C – Despite the Royals scoring 26 points off of 23 Trojan turnovers, No. 17 Anderson women's basketball team defeated South Atlantic Conference opponent Queens, 73-49, to open its 2019-20 SAC slate on Tuesday evening at Curry Arena.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in SAC play, while the Royals fall to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in conference action.
Senior Alexy Mollenhauer scored a team-high 16 points while grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. Mollenhauer also dished out a season-high six assists. Junior Taylor Hair netted 11 points while adding four rebounds. Senior Madison Baggett chipped in seven points with junior Alexis Tate ripping down six rebounds.
Queens Kristian Eanes led all-scorers with 19 points. Eanes shot 7-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Queens won the opening quarter 16-15, however a five minute lull in scoring during the second period allowed the Trojans to build an 18 point halftime lead. The Trojans continued to take advantage of several scoring droughts throughout the third and early fourth periods by the Royals, seeing AU's lead increase to as many as 32.
For the game, Anderson shot 43.3 percent (26-60) to Queens 29.7 percent (19-64). The Black and Gold controlled the glass, 46-31, which help secure the 73-49 victory.
"We were excited to get started with conference play tonight and even more excited about getting our first Road win of the season," said head coach Jonathon Barbaree. "I thought we played hard in spurts, but we still need to work on ball security. We were proud of our bench tonight and the lift they gave us offensively. We will get back after it tomorrow to prepare for our first trip up to UVA-Wise."
Anderson will remain on the road as it travels to new South Atlantic Conference member UVA-Wise on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.