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Women’s Basketball: Royals Hold Off Bobcats, 65-55, in Season Opener

Nov. 19, 2012. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queens University of Charlotte women’s basketball team held Lees-McRae College to a field goal percentage of 31.7 percent en route to a 65-55 win in Conference Carolinas play on Saturday evening.

Queens (2-0, 1-0 CC) shot 38 percent from the floor on the night, including a 41.7 percent clip in the second half, while limiting Lees-McRae (0-1, 0-1 CC) to a mark of 21.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Bobcats won the battle on the glass by a narrow 53-52 margin, including a 31-28 advantage on the defensive boards, as Queens scored 20 points off turnovers and edged the Bobcats, 30-18, in the paint.

Candace Flowers (Charlotte, N.C.) and Alyssa Munson (Summerfield, N.C.) each poured in a game-high 16 points on the night, as Munson added seven rebounds and two blocks. Icey Patterson (Seneca, S.C.) chipped in 11 points, while Kerri Belcher (Roanoke, Va.) and Zukye Smith (Chesterfield, Va.) each posted a contest-best 10 rebounds.

Shonice Pettaway paced the Royals with 13 points and eight boards, while Sarah Myatt chipped in 12 markers and Tia Hudgins added a team-high nine rebounds.

Queens never trailed in the contest, opening the game with an 8-2 run before pushing the margin to 17-4 following a Hudgins layup with 11:37 to play in the half. The Royals would stretch the advantage to 24-8 before the Bobcats responded, cutting the lead to 24-13 at the 4:01 mark thanks to five consecutive tallies by Munson.

The Royals countered with a 7-5 spurt over the next three minutes, taking a 31-18 lead before Munson capped the half with a pair of freebies to trim the margin to 31-20 heading into the intermission. Queens countered early in the second half, stretching the lead to 38-22 on a Pettaway triple before Flowers answered with a trey and a jumper to cut the advantage to 38-27 with 15:51 to play.

After Smith trimmed the margin to 42-32 with a jumper and Queens countered with back-to-back buckets, Munson and Kabrina Truesdale (Wilmington, N.C.) answered with a 5-2 spurt to close the gap to 48-37 at the 10:52 mark. Lees-McRae would keep pace with Queens the rest of the way, going nearly shot for shot with the Royals down the stretch, including a clutch three-pointer by Flowers with 3:27 to play.

The Bobcats would finish strong, closing out the game on a 10-4 run to cut a 61-45 lead to 65-55 on a last-second jumper by Patterson to cap the night’s scoring.

Lees-McRae returns to the court on Tuesday when the Bobcats travel to Misenheimer, N.C. to take on Pfeiffer University in league play at 5:30 p.m.