Women's Basketball Wins Against Spartanburg Methodist

SPARTANBURG, S.C.- The women's basketball team got back in the win column on Saturday, beating the Spartanburg Methodist College Lady Pioneers 83-75. This was the first meeting between the teams as Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponents.

Camryn Brown hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lady Bulldogs a 6-2 advantage. TWU led for a few more minutes as Leslie Hames pushed the lead to 8-5. Spartanburg Methodist took over the lead and held a 20-12 advantage to begin the second quarter. 

Tennessee Wesleyan scored the first eight points of the second quarter, using baskets by Julia Howard, Jalaya Lindsey, and Brown to tie the score 20-20. Spartanburg Methodist broke the tie by scoring nine straight points to pull ahead 29-20. Sloan Carpenter broke the scoreless drought with a three-point basket. Brown made it two in a row to bring the team within three points of the lead. Jordan White's layup made the score 35-32 but a last-second shot before the end of the half gave the Lady Pioneers a 37-32 lead at the break.

Out of the halftime break, the opponents scored five straight points to move their lead to ten points. The team faced their biggest deficit a few moments later when the score moved to 45-34 with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter. Hames, who made four three-pointers, including back-to-back, and White combined to help the team score 16 of the next 21 points and give the team a 50-47 lead. A layup by Aubrey Long helped the Lady Bulldogs lead 56-54 to begin the fourth quarter. 

The opponents took back the lead in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. With the score tied 65-65, Howard started a scoring streak of nine points that included scores by Hames and Brown to move the lead to 74-65 with 3:05 remaining in the game. Carpenter gave the team their largest lead of the game, a 14-point advantage, with a three-point bucket making the score 80-66. A few free throws and some defensive stops helped the Lady Bulldogs end the game with the eight-point win.

Hames led with a career-high 22 points to go along with career-highs by Howard (13), Brown (13), Carpenter (12), and White (12). Howard completed a double-double with 11 rebounds.

Up next for Tennessee Wesleyan (2-2, 1-1 AAC) is a road contest against Truett McConnell University on Wednesday. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.