by Erika Plunkett | May 11, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Twenty-one hours and two weather delays after it began, the Lipscomb softball team emerged the victors in the ASUN softball quarterfinal matchup against North Alabama. Senior Mandy Jordan was on the mound all 12 innings, totaling 137 pitches, but letting no Lions score. Due to inclement weather coming into the area, the ASUN elected to move all of Thursday’s tournament games up by an hour and a half, but not even the ASUN was prepared for the pitching duel between Jordan and North Alabama junior Megan Garst. Nine innings into this Thursday morning matchup, Garst and Jordan had combined to allow only nine hits, and the score remained 0-0. In the top of the 10th, with two UNA outs and a runner on base, lightning forced the suspension of the game. Shortly over 50 minutes later the game resumed. Although the delay was inconvenient, it caused no problems for either pitcher. Both pitchers returned to the mound without skipping a beat, extending the game into the 12th inning. In the bottom of the 12th, the Bisons finally had a runner in scoring position with the opportunity for a walk-off win, but Mother Nature was not ready for this game to end yet. More thunderstorms rolled into Ft. Myers, pushing the rest of the game until Friday morning. Thursday’s portion of the game lasted 9 1/2 hours, and it included 330 pitches. Friday, all it took was one pitch. Just a few minutes after 7 a.m. Central, senior Sarah Higgins’ single drove Hannah DeVault home and advanced the Bisons to the next round. The Bisons’ day was not over yet....
by Erika Plunkett | May 9, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
After sweeping FGCU and laying claim to the ASUN regular season title last weekend, reigning ASUN pitcher of the week, senior Mandy Jordan leads her Lady Bisons back to Ft. Myers for the 2019 ASUN Softball Tournament. In Thursday’s doubleheader, seniors Jenna Pealor and Graysen Gladden and juniors Hannah Devault and Peyton Ward batted in four runs. Errors by the Eagles allowed two more Bisons to score. Jordan was the player of the night as she pitched all seven innings in the first game shutout and got the save in the 4-2 game two win, allowing zero runs and only two hits. Although the Bisons clinched a bye in the ASUN tournament with Thursday’s victories, it was Friday’s win that proved all-important, giving the Bisons their first regular-season ASUN title since 2010. Jordan once again was the hero, pitching the entire game that went into extra innings. This was her second shutout of the series as the Bisons came away with a 1-0 victory over FGCU off of a DeVault RBI in the 10th inning, edging out Liberty for the top-seed in the ASUN tournament. Not only are the Lady Bisons the regular-season champions, but the ASUN named coach Kristin Ryman and DeVault the ASUN Coach of the Year and the ASUN Player of the Year respectively. DeVault also was honored with the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year award. In addition, senior Sarah Higgins, DeVault and Gladden represented Lipscomb on the ASUN’s all-conference first team, while Jordan and senior Jordan Fortel were named to the ASUN’s all-conference second team. Freshman Amy Vetula and freshman Katie Turner received...
by Erika Plunkett | Apr 4, 2019 | Galleries, News Slider, Uncategorized
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Lumination staff member Erika Plunkett was on-scene to capture the pre-game rally at Mustang Harry’s before the NIT championship game. Photos by Erika...
by Erika Plunkett | Mar 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
After losing to NJIT on Wednesday and clinching the No. 9 seed in the ASUN, the Lady Bisons fell to the North Alabama Lions on their senior night Saturday afternoon in Florence 71-50. Lipscomb did not have much to play for Saturday, as clinching the ninth seed eliminated the Lady Bisons from the ASUN tournament next week. So, as has been this season’s story for the Bisons (3-24, 1,14 ASUN), they could not maintain their first half intensity and let a three-point game at halftime become an almost 30 point game once in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, the Lions (19-6, 10-5 ASUN) had everything to play for as this game assured them one of the top four seeds in the ASUN and the opportunity to host at least one game in the tournament in their first season as a Division 1 school. The game got off to a slow start as Lipscomb and UNA posted strong defensive performances in the first quarter but were unable to convert on the other end of the court. In this period, the two teams only posted a combined 22 points. Last time these two schools met, it was junior guard Emma Wallen who provided the early spark for the Lions. But today it was a different sister out of the triplet trio — fellow junior guard Ivy Wallen — who was the early conductor for UNA’s offense and led the Lions in scoring in the first half. For the Bisons, the scoring was evenly spread across the roster with all 10 players who entered the game posting at least...
by Erika Plunkett | Feb 20, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
On Tuesday night, the Lipscomb women’s basketball team fell to high-flying Florida Gulf Coast University 80-46 in Nashville. The struggles for the Lady Bisons (3-23, 1-12 ASUN) began before either team took the court. Due to a severe power outage on Lipscomb’s campus, the game was moved from the Lady Bisons’ home court in Allen Arena to a couple miles up the road at Belmont’s Curb Event Center. The Lady Bisons opened the game on a 5-0 run and held the advantage for much of the first quarter. In the first seven minutes, Lipscomb saw six different players record points. When asked about this early momentum, Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said he was not surprised. “It’s how we anticipated coming in,” Brown said. “We had good movement. I thought we mixed up our defense and took them out of rhythm, and we both played pretty well those first four or five minutes. It’s the ability to sustain.” And he was right. Lipscomb was unable to sustain its tempo, and the lead was short-lived, as the Eagles (22-4, 13-0 ASUN) answered with a 27-point run spanning the first and second quarters. Lipscomb’s scoring drought lasted for over 11 minutes until junior guard Anna Hammaker finally found the basket with just under two minutes left before halftime. Much of the Eagles’ success came from outside the arc, as they finished the night with 49 attempts from three-point range, surpassing Lipscomb’s total field goal attempts. FGCU converted on 15 of these attempts, led by junior forward Nasrin Ulel’s five threes. “There’s nothing they do that’s tricky,” Brown said. “They just cut really hard....
