Anna Crowder/Women's Basketball | Tennessee Wesleyan University
Anna Crowder/Women's Basketball | Tennessee Wesleyan University
James L. Robb Gymnasium saw the women's basketball team host another Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game on Thursday. The Johnson University Lady Royals visited Athens looking to prevent the Lady Bulldogs from adding a win to their record.
The team could find a basket in the early segments of the game as the team's first six possessions ended with a miss or a turnover. Fortunately, the team's defensive play kept them in the play as they only trailed by four points when Anna Crowder made a free throw to give the team their first point of the contest with 6:38 remaining in the first quarter. Johnson scored 10 of the next 14 points, with TWU's points coming from layups by Yeika Jimenez Diaz, to take a 14-5 lead with 2:59 left in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Ashley Baxter and a layup by Jordan Wright helped the team end the quarter on a 5-1 run, making the score 15-10.
TWU saw a pair of Crowder free throws, and a Jacelyn Stone three-pointer and free throw in the opening of the second quarter make the score 20-16 in favor of the opponents. The teams continued to exchange points with layups by Jimenez Diaz and Stone moving the score to 27-20. Similar to the end of the first quarter, the Lady Bulldogs outscored the Lady Royals, this time 5-2, to make the halftime score 29-25. Jaci Powell hit a three-point jump shot and Jimenez Diaz scored on a layup to give the scoring advantage at the end of the half.
At the 7:46 mark in the third quarter, Tennessee Wesleyan had cut the lead down to three points. The combination of a pair of free throws by Mikalee Martin, layups by Wright, and a three-pointer by Crowder made the score 37-34. The team did not pull closer though as back-to-back three-point baskets with a Stone layup sandwiched in between moved the score to 43-36. Cambree Mayo's three-pointer started a 7-2 run, which included a pair of free throws from Crowder and a Jimenez Diaz layup, to bring the team back within two points of the lead. The opponents extended their lead once again, and a free throw and three-pointer by Alexis Bates made the score 53-47 at the end of the third quarter.
The game changed in the fourth quarter. The Lady Bulldogs found a groove on offense to the tune of 28 points in the quarter while the defense clamped down to hold the Lady Royals to just seven points. As a part of a 10-2 run, beginning with a Mayo layup and including free throws from Crowder, a three-pointer from Crowder, and a Stone three-point basket, the lead changed to TWU's side as the scoreboard ready 57-55. Though Johnson did pull within two points of the lead with 6:28 remaining, the Lady Bulldogs ended the game on a 16-3 run, propelling Tennessee Wesleyan to a 75-60 win at the final buzzer.
Four players scored in double-digits, led by Stone's 17 points. Wright (15), Crowder (13), and Jimenez Diaz (10) were also in double figures. Crowder completed the double-double with 10 rebounds.
Up next for the Lady Bulldogs (9-4, 7-4 AAC) is the first road trip of the 2023 portion of the schedule. The team will travel to face the No. 1 team in the AAC standings, Reinhardt University, on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
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