by Danny Kotula | Feb 25, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – For almost every team across all sports and levels, no matter how successful it may be, there is a distinguishable low point. In the Lipscomb women’s basketball team’s case, it’s hard not to argue that their low point just arrived after a 20-point loss to Bellarmine Thursday night. The Knights’ were 3-23 overall and a winless 0-14 in the ASUN Conference leading up to their 68-48 win at historic Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. Giving a team their first conference win of the season is disappointing enough, but according to assistant coach Chris Sumski, the biggest issue on the night was a lack of effort. “I don’t know if we didn’t take them seriously, [and] there’s no such thing as an easy conference win, but we just didn’t have it today,” Sumski said. “It was unacceptable.” “It better [change Saturday versus Central Arkansas], or it’s going to be an embarrassing finish to the season,” Sumski said. Presley Brown paced the Knights with 17 points, one of five players who scored in double figures for the home team. Baylee Harney, Claire Knies, Mackenzie Keelin, and Katherine Scott also scored 10-plus points for Bellarmine. Second-year freshman guard Jordan Peete and sophomore wing Jalyn Holcomb scored 11 points each to lead the Bisons, who failed to score 50 points for only the third time this season. Peete shot 4-5 from the field but committed six of Lipscomb’s 17 turnovers on the night. Holcomb added four rebounds and two assists. The first quarter saw the Bisons shoot just 2-12 from the field on offense, scoring their lowest point total in...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 24, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team lost a 76-73 decision to the Bellarmine Knights Wednesday night at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. After trailing by nine points at halftime, a missed three-pointer as time expired from junior Greg Jones kept Lipscomb from forcing overtime against the Knights. “We didn’t quit,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said. “I thought we showed a strong chin, you know: we got [the lead] down to two and just had four bad possessions at the end.” Second-year freshman guard Will Pruitt led the Bisons with 18 points on 5-9 shooting from the floor. The Mt. Juliet, Tennessee-born point guard made three first-half three-pointers en route to a 3-5 mark from beyond the arc on the day. “Will played really well,” Acuff said. “He’s had a great year. Tonight was just kind of indicative of the way he’s played all year; he’s a great player and a winning player.” Junior center Ahsan Asadullah scored eight points, adding six rebounds and six assists to lead the Bisons in both categories. After leaking points all over the floor to an effective Bellarmine offense, Lipscomb found its way defensively in the second half. The Bisons allowed 6-12 shooting from deep by the home team in the first half, but held Bellarmine to just 1-9 from three in the second half. However, points in the paint were troublesome for Lipscomb throughout. The Knights knocked in 48 points in the paint across the game, doubling Lipscomb’s total of 24. Leading the charge inside for the home side was Dylan Penn, who went 8-10 on field goals and scored...
by Parker O'Neal | Feb 21, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE–The Lipscomb women’s tennis team lost to the UAB Blazers 5-2 Saturday afternoon in their last competition of the indoor season at Ensworth High School. The Bisons played matches in back-to-back days for the first time this season after defeating in-city rival Belmont 4-3 the day before. Despite senior Maddux Brandy and sophomore Sasha Dobranos’ commanding 6-1 win in the doubles round, the Bisons fell behind 0-1 to start as they were unable to win the other two doubles matches. “We showed some good things [but] we really just blew the doubles point which really changed the trajectory…it was just one of those days where we had to be a little bit tougher,” assistant coach Dwight Dale said. The Bison’s performances in the singles matches did not reflect the final score as there were four tiebreakers that occurred throughout the tight matches. Dobranos won her first competitive set with a tiebreaker win and finished with a 6-4 win in her second set. Courtside to Dobranos’ match, Kate Popova, hailing from Donetsk, Ukraine, fought valiantly as she faced three tiebreaker sets in a row, winning the match in the final two sets. Beginning in March, the Bisons will play three matches in a span of five days. “Our girls know that we are going to be playing against really good competition,” Dale said, “[but] we’re capable of doing it. It’s just a matter of going out and taking care of business.” Lipscomb’s record sits at 3-4 after the weekend slate and will now play on campus at the Huston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center for the remaining scheduled home games. The Bisons will...
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 Danny Kotula | Feb 20, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
FLORENCE, Alabama – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team completed a 19-point comeback to beat the North Alabama Lions Saturday afternoon at Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama. Down 42-23 with 18:26 left in the contest, a resilient Bisons squad found their way back from one of their largest deficits all year. “I’m really proud, I’m really happy for them,” head coach Lennie Acuff said. Junior center Ahsan Asadullah led the charge with a double-double, collecting 10 rebounds to go with a team-leading 23 points. Asadullah shot 9-12 from the field and went 2-2 on three-pointers, adding seven assists and three blocks to a successful outing on both ends of the floor. Despite picking up a knee injury early in the second half after missing time earlier this season to knee troubles, the Atlanta native scored 14 points in the second half to mastermind the comeback. Asadullah came away from a screen clutching his knee, leading to fears of a serious injury, but the center checked back in just over three minutes later. “He’s a really, really good player,” Acuff said, “and he played 33 minutes–I thought he was done when he went out.” Down 40-23 at halftime, Lipscomb fought back with an eight-point run, a seven-point run, and a six-point run to eventually cut the lead to four points with 5:52 left. A Dallas Howell three-pointer for UNA put the Lions up 64-57, but a three-pointer and three free throws made it a one-point game at the final media timeout. The lead flip-flopped until graduate forward Parker Hazen made a pair of free throws to put Lipscomb up 74-72 with...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 18, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost to division leaders Jacksonville State 62-53 Thursday night at Allen Arena. A defensive battle saw two teams compete closely for 30 minutes, but a late third-quarter run from JSU left the Bisons unable to respond. Lipscomb was led by junior guard Casey Collier, who went 5-8 from the floor en route to 12 points. Collier, a Knoxville native, also led the team in rebounds with seven and in assists with three. “She’s a fighter like always,” assistant coach Chris Sumski said. “She’s been battling through some tough injuries right now, she had the toughest assignment on defense today, and she was still productive offensively.” Graduate shooting guard Sydney Shelton produced 10 points off the bench, all of which came in the fourth quarter. Imani Martin led Jacksonville State with 18 points, but the most damage to the Bisons was done at the free throw line. The visitors from east Alabama made 18 of 21 at the charity stripe, outscoring the Bisons by 11 on free throws despite Lipscomb going a perfect 7-7. Aside from free throws, it was mostly an ugly night of offense for both sides. Lipscomb and JSU combined for 6-23 shooting in the second quarter, highlighting what would end up being a sub-40% evening from the field for both teams. One recurring achilles heel reared its ugly head for the second time this year–turnovers. Against an effective full-court press, Lipscomb struggled to hold onto the ball and gave away 18 points off of their 17 turnovers. Jacksonville State coughed up the ball 12 times resulting in just six...
