RALEIGH, N.C. – The Meredith College Women's Basketball Team (1-1) battled back from 15 points down in the second half, defeating Emory & Henry College (1-2) by a 80-79 score Saturday afternoon at Weatherspoon Gymnasium. The Wasps had four players reach double figures in scoring despite the loss.
The Avenging Angels got out to a 10-3 lead at the 14:59 mark of the first half but the Wasps put together a 7-0 run highlighted by five-straight points by freshman forward Karina Farr (Graham, Wash.) to tie the contest at 10 with 12:58 remaining. E&H would continue the run to go up 16-12 but Meredith held strong and knotted the score at 18.
The two squads would battle back and forth for the remainder of the half with Emory & Henry taking a 34-31 lead into the break thanks to a buzzer-beater three-pointer by sophomore guard Michelle Williams (Stokesdale, N.C.).
After the break, the Wasps put together a 16-4 run to open their lead up to 15 points at the 16:13 mark. Sophmore guard Kristie Langley (Staley, N.C.) scored eight points during the stretch. Meredith closed the gap to six (59-53) with 10:25 on the clock to get back into the game.
E&H was able to extend its lead back to nine points but a 13-4 run by Meredith tied the contest at 71 points apiece with 3:33 remaining. Neither team would get more than two points ahead for the rest of the game and the score would be tied four more times.
Down two with 18 seconds left to go, junior forward JoBeth Wright (Mooresville, N.C.) hit a layup to knot the score at 79. Meredith's Laquetta Hairston went one-for-two on her subsequent trip to the free throw line for the 80-79 advantage.
The Wasps had two opportunities in the final seconds to steal the game, but the Avenging Angels escaped with the one-point victory.
Meredith was led by Kristen Alford's 25-point performance as she came off the bench to hit five three-pointers in the contest. Keyanka Bailey had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Kim Hinton added 10 points of her own. Danielle Lee led the Avenging Angels with 10 rebounds and chipped in five points of her own.
Langley had a team-high 19 points and added six rebounds and four assists for Emory & Henry. Williams hit four three-pointers en route to 18 points and eight boards while Farr earned her second-straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Wright had 10 points and eight rebounds in the contest.
E&H shot 39.1 percent (25-for-64) from the field for the contest and hit seven three-point baskets. The Wasps also converted 22-of-31 free throw attempts, but fell victim to 18 turnovers and missed layups.
Emory & Henry will return home on Monday for a 7:00 p.m., matchup with Averett University.
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