by Parker O'Neal | Feb 20, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
FLORENCE, Alabama – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team broke an eight-game losing streak by defeating the North Alabama Lions 70-59 Saturday afternoon, their first-ever win in Florence. The Bisons only played seven players in the game, five of which totaled more than 35 minutes, and all 70 points came from the starting lineup. With starting point guard Casey Collier out with injury, the starting lineup stepped up in her absence with four players scoring in double digits. Knocking down 25 of their 55 attempts, the Bisons made 45.5% of their shots. “You can’t completely take out the part that she plays on our team because she’s taught us so much about leadership…I think all of us had to step into the ‘Casey-role’ today,” junior guard Blythe Pearson said, noting Collier’s absence. Pearson, hailing from Overland Park, Kansas, earned a double-double by tallying a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior Maddie Cook also had a strong resume with 16 points, eight rebounds, and a game-high four assists. Sophomore Jalyn Holcomb and freshman Jordan Peete also scored in double digits with 13 and 12 points respectively. Pearson had an electric first quarter as she contributed to 10 of Lipscomb’s 15 points on a 4-5 shooting performance. Cook ignited Pearson’s efficient quarter by drawing two defenders and assisting to a wide-open Pearson for three. Lipscomb would turn a 13-7 North Alabama lead to a tied score of 15-15 at the end of the quarter. Freshman Skyler Gill and transfer student Patrycja Jaworska played efficiently and led the Lions with 14 points each. Jaworska made a three-pointer to take a 30-20...
by Parker O'Neal | Feb 13, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
The stage is set for the 2022 Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California Sunday afternoon. This will be only the second time in history that an N.F.L. team will host their own Super Bowl as the Bengals visit the Rams’ $5.5 billion stadium in Southern California. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the first team to host a Super Bowl just last season. After a wild month of playoffs, two 4-seeds will play in the Super Bowl which is the first time since the NFL merger that a 1-seed, 2-seed, or 3-seed did not advance to the Super Bowl. Los Angeles’ loaded roster pushed the team past Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the N.F.C. Championship to reach the Super Bowl. Before facing the Bucs, they took down division-rival foes Arizona and San Francisco on the N.F.C. side of the bracket. The Rams were riding on a “Super Bowl or bust” year after acquiring quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick. Stafford has multiple weapons on the offensive side, highlighted by wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Kupp won the Offensive Player of the Year after gaining the second-most receiving yards in a season in N.F.L. history. He also won the receiving triple crown by leading the league in catches, receiving yards, and touchdown catches. Stafford’s offensive arsenal also includes wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Van Jefferson. The ground game is led by running back Cam Akers, who added a spark to the offense in the second...
by Parker O'Neal | Feb 13, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team fell to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 82-69 Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena after giving up a large first-quarter lead. Scoring characterized the first quarter, as both teams shot over 50% from field goal range in the opening frame. Freshman forward Bella Vinson and sophomore guard Blythe Pearson scored back-to-back three pointers, followed by freshman Jordan Peete taking a charge on the defensive end. EKU fought back quickly, though. After a Bisons turnover, guard Ariel Kirkwood from EKU scored as the quarter ended to tie the game at 21-21. In the second quarter, Knoxville-native Casey Collier would make a tough floater shot to cut the lead to one point. However, the Colonels scored 27 points across the quarter while Lipscomb’s shooting percentage dropped. “I think the thing that really started to snowball for us was giving up second chance points,” assistant coach Chris Sumski said. “I think their length affected us a little bit.” Maddie Cook, a redshirt junior from Belmont, disrupted what would have been a wide-open EKU layup after a turnover by putting up a strong block. Despite Cook’s defensive play and Pearson’s 13 points, though, the Bisons trailed 48-33 at half. Midway through the third quarter, the Bisons cut the lead to 56-45 thanks to sophomore Jalyn Holcomb’s back-to-back shots from behind the arc. Peete also replicated Holcomb’s performance with a pair of consecutive threes of her own. The margin was stretched to a game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter when Italy native Alice Recanti scored in the paint for EKU. The Bisons were not able to create a spark on...
by Parker O'Neal | Feb 13, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb women’s tennis team bumped up their record to 2-2 after sneaking out with a 4-3 victory against Murray State at the Ensworth High School Tennis Center. The Bisons fell at the start after losing in the doubles round competition, but that did not stop their momentum heading into the singles round. Last week’s ASUN Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, Sasha Dobranos, dominated in her singles match, allowing her opponent to only win two games across two sets. Chattanooga native Maddox Brandy was the next Bison to win after surviving a tiebreaker in the first set. With the score tied at 2-2, seniors Eleanor Chapman and Kate Popova found themselves in competitive sets with the match on the line. Down 3-2 in the second set, Chapman looked to find momentum. When asked what was said to Chapman to turn the set around, head coach Jamie Aid indicated it was a mentality more than a strategy. “[I told her to] just have fun and play your game…if we’re gonna win or lose, let’s win or lose by playing our [style of] tennis,” Aid said. Chapman went from trailing a game in the second set to winning her match in a tiebreaker of 7-3. With a chance to win the matchup against the Racers, Popova forced a third set after losing 7-5 in the first. Popova exhibited great resilience as a back-and-forth set resulted in a 7-5 third set win for Popova, and the match win for the Bisons as a team. “Kate played phenomenal tonight…she’s been a three time all-conference [player] and freshman of the year. [She’s...
by Parker O'Neal | Feb 7, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb men’s tennis team came away with only one point Sunday morning at in-city rivals Vanderbilt in a 6-1 decision. The Commodores started off with the early 1-0 lead after sweeping Lipscomb in the doubles round. International graduate students Pedro Uribe and Gonzalo Garcia-Nieto had an early grudge match in the doubles round as they lost in a close tie-break set. Maksim Bogdanovich, who recently won his second career ASUN Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week, played national 34th-ranked George Harwell competitively throughout the match. However, Harwell was able to win with a come-from-behind effort in the second set. The most intriguing match of the day was also the longest played. Alex Mesquida, a junior from Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain, finished his game to grab the Bisons sole point of the competition. Commodore Jermie Casabon forced both sets to go into a tiebreak, but Mesquida was able to come out on top in both. Mesquida exhibited a miraculous effort as he fought back to win an incredible 14-12 tie-break score in the first set. Lipscomb drops to 1-3 and Vanderbilt improves to 2-0 after their home opener. Lipscomb will play their next few matches at Richland Country Club, including two matches this weekend. The Bisons match up with Tennessee Tech 6 p.m. Friday and against Tennessee State at 5 p.m. Saturday. Results Singles: #34 Harwell, George (VANDY) def. Bogdanovich, Maksim (LIP) 6-4, 6-4#93 Klopper, Joubert (VANDY) def. Uribe, Pedro (LIP) 6-2, 6-1Ferreira, Marcus (VANDY) def. Stojanovic, Luka (LIP) 6-2, 6-1Freeman, Max (VANDY) def. Gracia-Nieto, Gonzalo (LIP) 6-4, 6-4Mesquida, Alex (LIP) def. Casabon, Jeremie (VANDY) 7-6...
