ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson women's basketball team connected on a season-high 15 three-pointers, including three treys in overtime, to defeat Mars Hill, 76-68, in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson (15-5, 9-1 SAC) maintained its hold on the top spot in the conference standings, while increasing its winning streak to eight games, which is the program's longest since the 2007-08 squad reeled off 20 consecutive victories en route to an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Mars Hill fell to 4-14 overall and 1-9 in conference action, while dropping its ninth decision in the last 10 outings.
Senior guard Alissa Diaz led all scorers with 27 points, including 24 in the second period and overtime. She narrowly missed her third double-double of the season, recording a team-high nine rebounds, while dishing out three assists. Sophomore Lesley Woods added a career-high 21 points for Anderson and connected on 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, while recording four assists and four steals.
Senior guard Amanda Parris netted 12 points, all in the first half. Senior Tilde Ahlin chipped in nine points, seven rebounds and four assists, as well. The Trojans connected on 15-of-34 from beyond the arc (44.1 percent) and 27-of-64 overall from the field (42.2 percent).
Sophomore Armeka Booker led Mars Hill with 21 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Ansley Ricker tallied 17 points and five assists. Junior guard Autumn Ward added 10 points and freshman Kelsey Espinosa recorded a career-high 11 rebounds.

Parris scored the Trojans' first six points and nine of Anderson's first 11 points of the contest, all on 3-pointers to give the Trojans an early 11-6 lead. But with the score knotted at 13-13, Mars Hill answered with an 11-2 run to take its largest lead of the contest with 8:26 left in the first half.

Anderson countered with a 13-6 outburst over the next six minutes to trim the deficit to just 30-28 at the 3:18 mark, with Ahlin sparking the run with a short jumper and Woods fueled the outburst with back-to-back 3-pointers. However, MHC responded with seven unanswered points to push back to a nine-point, 37-28, edge before taking a 37-32 halftime lead following a free throw from Diaz and another 3-pointer from Woods.
The Trojans erupted for a 17-3 run to open the second half en route to claiming their largest lead of the game, at 49-40, with 11:54 remaining. But the Lions refused to go away, responding with a 12-4 surge to pull within 53-52 on a free throw from Erica Warren and took a 57-56 edge on Ricker's traditional three-point play with just 38 seconds left.

Ricker connected on the second of two free-throw attempts with 15.5 on the clock to give the visitors a 58-56 lead, with Diaz sending the game into overtime with a runner in the lane with just 5.4 seconds left.

Woods sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around another basket by Diaz, as the Trojans opened a quick 66-58 cushion in the extra frame, with Woods draining four free throws in the final 21 seconds to help seal the win.

The Trojans open a two-game South Atlantic Conference road swing, beginning at Newberry on Wednesday. AU will be looking for a series sweep after defeating the Wolves, 57-51, earlier this season at the Abney Center.