WINCHESTER, Va. - Shenandoah had all cylinders firing as it avenged an earlier USA South loss to the Peace College Pride with an 84-74 triumph Sunday afternoon in Shingleton Gymnasium.
The Hornets (10-12 overall, 7-6 USA South) had five players reach double-digit scoring as SU leap-frogged the visiting Pride (14-7, 7-7) to assume fourth place in the current conference standings.
Much as in the 63-47 Peace victory over visiting SU on January 11, the Pride jumped out to an early lead and appeared to have the game in control. They opened up the game with an 8-0 run in the first 2:41, but Shenandoah coach Kathy Orsini called a timeout at the 17:19 mark and the momentum took a decided swing.
SU followed the timeout with a controlled 12-0 run and never looked back as the hosts rallied behind a nearly flawless first-half performance from sophomore Dee Fisher (Arlington, Va./Yorktown). Fisher netted 14 of her game-high 23 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the opening period, and Shenandoah cruised to a 41-31 halftime advantage.
Throughout the contest, Peace controlled the paint with seven collective blocks and an almost unheard of 54-34 rebounding edge against the Hornets, but SU stuck to its game plan and played intelligent basketball. Shenandoah forced the Pride into 25 turnovers while committing only nine and outshot the visitors 46.3-percent to 40.9.
Gina Lane led the Pride with 18 points while Tia Saunders (16 points, 14 rebounds), Dee Luck (11, 15), and Lindy Cartwright (14,10) each turned in a double-double performance.
In addition to Fisher's 23 points, freshman Cassie Womack (Alexandria, Va./Hayfield), senior Adina Trammel (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun Co.), and sophomore Joia Davis (Trenton, N.J./Stuart Co.) added 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively. Junior Jenny Gray (Sumerduck, Va./Liberty) put on a clinic and looked absolutely brilliant against the Pride by scoring 15 points and dishing out a game-high seven assists in the win.
A complete boxscore may be located at: http://www.su.edu/athletics/wb/200304/021504.htm
Shenandoah returns to action Tuesday night as the Hornets open up a doubleheader with the men's team at 5:30 PM. The Tuesday night game against Ferrum will serve as Senior Night for the women as they honor the departure of veterans Trammel and Katie Woods (Winchester, Va./Sherando).
