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Women’s Basketball: Bulldogs Bite Bobcats, 71-52

Nov. 28, 2012. The Barton College women’s basketball team placed four players in double figures, and outscored Lees-McRae College by a 38-25 margin in the first half en route to a 71-52 victory in Conference Carolinas play on Tuesday evening in Williams Gymnasium.

Barton (2-2, 2-0 CC) shot an even 50 percent from the floor on the night, including a 53.3 percent clip in the first half, while holding Lees-McRae (0-3, 0-3 CC) to a field goal percentage of 38.5 percent in the contest. The Bobcats won the battle on the glass by a 36-29 margin, including a 12-6 advantage on the offensive boards, as Barton converted 24 Lees-McRae miscues into 23 points.

Lauren Lewis (Concord, N.C.) paced the Bobcats with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, also pulling down six boards as Alyssa Munson (Summerfield, N.C.) nearly posted a double-double with nine rebounds and seven points. Kerri Belcher (Roanoke, Va.) chipped in a game-high 10 boards, while Kabrina Truesdale (Wilmington, N.C.) added nine markers with a 3-for-5 night from beyond the arc.

Nyeshea Willie led all scorers with 18 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 9-for-9 night from the charity stripe. Janae Jackson added 17 markers with a 7-for-9 night from the floor, as Jolanda Mitchell and Shante Neal chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Elaine Morgan posted a game-high six assists.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest, opening an early 14-4 lead before pushing the advantage to 23-8 following a Willie triple with 12:32 left in the half. After Truesdale knocked down her first three-pointer of the night at the 11:20 mark and Barton countered with a 5-0 spurt, Truesdale buried a pair of triples to cut the lead to 30-21 with 7:38 to play in the period.

Barton would close the half on an 8-4 spurt, pushing the lead to 38-25 heading into the intermission. The Bulldogs carried the momentum into the second half, opening the period with a 17-3 surge to widen the gap to 55-28 following a jumper by Cassandra Brown with 13:35 to play. Barton would hold on from there, weathering a late rally by the Bobcats en route to the 71-52 victory.

Lees-McRae returns to the court on Saturday when the Bobcats host Coker College at 2 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium to continue their conference schedule.