by Mckenzi Harris | Feb 7, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb University women’s basketball team took on the Stetson Hatters Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena. The Lady Bisons won, 58-54. This win continues the Lady Bisons’ win streak at home. The win was the first for the Lady Bisons over Stetson at home since 2010. On Jan. 23, senior forward Taylor Clark became the 10th lady bison to score 1000 points in her career, joining the Lady Bisons 1000 point club. Clark added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Bisons’ win tonight, while freshman guard Jordan Peete was the leading contributor with 15 points. The Lady Bisons came in hot from the arc shooting threes to take a lead over Stetson, 34-26 in the first half. Peete went on a run early in the 4th, pushing Lipscomb’s lead to double digits in the final quarter. The hatters then went on their own run, take the Lady Bison’s lead down to single digits by the end of the 4th. The Lady Bisons will play Stetson again tomorrow at 2 pm in Allen...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 6, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s soccer team started their 2021 season off right with a 3-1 home victory over the Evansville Purple Aces on Saturday. In a complete team performance, the Bisons produced three goals and only conceded one from a late penalty kick. In the attack, freshman forward Javanne Smith scored a brace and added an assist, having a hand in all three of Lipscomb’s goals on the night. The Nottingham, UK native is starting life as a Bison in excellent form after scoring two goals in the space of five minutes. Smith’s goals came in the 65th and 70th minutes, putting the game to bed midway through the second half after Tyrece Spicer opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Spicer, also a freshman, added a goal on his only shot attempt of the match. After scoring early on in Lipscomb’s exhibition match against UAB, the Trinidad and Tobago international student is making a name for himself with his goal-scoring abilities. Signal Mountain-born Thomas Priest anchored the midfield, lasting all 90 minutes in primarily a defensive midfield role. The redshirt sophomore was the only midfielder to play the entire match. Center-back Honore Kalala led a stalwart defensive unit for the Bisons. Including the two exhibition matches, the Danish defender is the only player to have played every minute of every match this year. To his left, Louis Robinson enjoyed plenty of success in his new role at left-back. His electricity down the wing provided plenty of chances, while his defensive intensity stopped multiple attacking chances at the other end. True freshman Will Turner also impressed on the backline, working...
by Micah Kennedy | Feb 6, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The end of a COVID-induced 441-day offseason began with disappointment for Lipscomb’s women’s soccer team. The Bisons fell to the Lee University Lady Flames 2-1 in a game that served as a huge boost to the D-II team in its eight-game virus-abbreviated season. In the early going of the first half, the Lady Bisons came out aggressive and on the attack. They applied pressure to the Lee defense and goalkeeper Jacqueline Burns rose to the occasion with five saves in the first six minutes of the half. The Lady Bisons defense was solid early as well, keeping Lee from attacking the final third of the field with only two shot attempts approaching the 40-minute mark. The complexion of the first half changed as Lee’s resilient bunch adjusted to Lipscomb’s high press and pieced enough productive touches to set up a Kelsey Yoder goal assisted by Mallory Hayden [40:57]. That 1-0 score would hold going into halftime with the Lady Bisons entering the half as the more aggressive team with very realistic hopes that later shot opportunities would score. As the second half progressed, Lee looked more poised and confident with the ball and the backline of their defense was stout as well. Lipscomb remained aggressive offensively with six more shot attempts by the 74-minute mark. However, many of those attempts were not challenging shots that led to a few flat-footed saves by Burns. The aggressive Lady Bison offense was able to capitalize off a corner kick [73:52] and kept the ball in striking distance until Evee Reeder was able to convert a goal for Lipscomb off the assist from Emily...
by Micah Kennedy | Feb 5, 2021 | News, News Slider, Sports
It feels like it’s been over a year since we’ve last seen the women’s soccer team take the field. Well, that’s because it has been over a year. “It’s been 441 days from our last competition against Louisville…,” said coach O’Brien. “For the players, it’s been a long haul. 2020 was a tough year mentally for them.” Everything about the offseason has been far from normal, from its length, the state of the world, and the uncertainty that it brought players and fans alike. While so much in the world has changed, the back-to-back ASUN champs have experienced some changes on their roster as well. The team graduated seven seniors last year, and the roster currently features nine freshmen. Along with the large freshman class, the team has brought in three transfers from other D-I programs with coach O’Brien highlighting Kelli Beiler, a midfielder from Penn State, as one of the captains coming into the season. The team expects solid production from the experienced transfer group this year. Among the 15 returning players, Molly Grant, Katia Hanger, Logan McFadden, and Cami Rogers were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. With the combination of talented newcomers and promising returners, expectations for the team to have a legitimate shot at a third consecutive ASUN title are inevitable. The Bisons’ selection as the favorite to finish first in the preseason coaches’ poll is just one example of those high expectations. Naturally, the team also has to deal with the perennial “target” on their backs as long as “defending ASUN champions” precedes their name. Teams around the ASUN will have their matchups with...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 5, 2021 | News, News Slider, Sports
It’s been a long time coming, but the Lipscomb men’s soccer team can finally look forward to a full season of soccer. In all likelihood, it will be a season well worth the wait, as head coach Charles Morrow is optimistic about the Bisons’ squad this year. He says he’s especially excited about the mix of veteran leaders and youthful exuberance within the team. “We’re younger upfront [than last year] and more veteran in defense. If you had to choose, that would probably be the way to go.” One of the reasons the Bisons are so experienced on the backline is Nottingham, England native Louis Robinson’s positional move. After playing mainly forward last year, he and his attacking prowess are moving to the left-back position. With attack-minded fullback Noah Gulden occupying the right-back position, there’s a lot of expectation being placed on the outside defenders to create attacking chances for the Bisons. Alongside those two junior fullbacks are returning starter Honore Kalala and junior Scott Gulden, occupying the starting center back slots. It’s a quality back four that knows what they’re capable of, so expect some clean sheets for the Bisons this year. Meanwhile, as Coach Morrow alluded to, there are plenty of new faces in the attacking ranks. Javanne Smith is a freshman who joins Lipscomb from Chesterfield FC, a club in the 5th tier of the English soccer system. “Javanne is a forward for us that we expect to have a big year as a freshman,” Coach Morrow said when asked about freshmen to expect big things from. Another freshman forward in the mix is Tyrece Spicer,...
by Spencer Boehme | Jan 31, 2021 | Galleries, News, News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb’s men’s basketball team was supposed to play at Stetson this weekend, but since the Bisons had played more conference games than most of their ASUN opponents, the conference announced Lipscomb would get a bye week to allow other teams to fill in the gap. Luckily, Lipscomb was able to snag a non-conference opponent in Bluefield State, a Division II independent out of West Virginia, for a Saturday matinee game. The Bisons used 41 bench points and limited the Big Blue to just 21 second-half points to win 89-56. “First off, we’re real [sic] thankful for Bluefield agreeing to come in and play,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said during a postgame interview on ESPN+. “We found out Tuesday afternoon that we weren’t gonna be going to Florida.” Redshirt junior center Ahsan Asadullah paced Lipscomb (11-8, 5-3 ASUN) with 19 points, followed by 13 from sophomore guard KJ Johnson and 11 from sophomore guard Carson Cary. Junior Marquez Cooper and sophomore Taj-Maal Toney dialed in 13 apiece for Bluefield State (1-4), while junior guard Brandon Anyanwu had 11. The bench only contributed seven points for the Big Blue, who were without the top rebounder in Division II Alex Nunnely due to injury. “I thought our bench did a really good job, and I was really excited to see those guys get a chance,” Acuff said. “Cause they’ve played well in practice. I’m not surprised by how well all those guys played.” Lipscomb had a sluggish start and was down 15-7 at the 14:41 mark and then 27-19 with under seven minutes left in the first half. But Bluefield State could only...
