by Danny Kotula | Jan 24, 2022 | News Slider, Sports, Student Spotlight
Diana Saleh doesn’t pay much mind to those who tell her something isn’t possible for her. “I hate when people try to talk fear.” The story of the 6’3″ center’s path to Division I basketball at Lipscomb has always been unorthodox. From her unbridled desire to accomplish what seems impossible off the court to her work ethic and dedication on it, Saleh knows no boundaries. With the recent loss of Lipscomb’s starting center to injury, Saleh’s story seems to look more like a movie script with each passing day. This particular movie, though, boasts a script that would be the envy of any screenwriter in Hollywood. There is indeed a fearlessness inside the Michigan-raised sophomore, whether or not people talk fear around her. The fearlessness Saleh displays is, much like her, unique. It’s characterized by quiet, calculated confidence, the same confidence that exudes from her presence on and off the court. Whether the task at hand is a first-ever interview, blazing a trail for the next generation of female athletes, or juggling one of the hardest degree programs on campus with her basketball schedule, Saleh approaches it all with an assurance that can only come from past experience. And when it comes to know-how in stripping down stereotypes, Saleh has a world-class resume. Her very arrival at Lipscomb circumvented the status quo. Saleh’s hometown of Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of nearby Detroit, could hardly be more different from Nashville. “I’ve been in Dearborn my entire life,” Saleh said. “It’s a high population of Arabs, and I would say it was kind of like a bubble. So coming here was...
by Danny Kotula | Jan 23, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team rid themselves of a 4-game losing streak in a 77-73 win over the Kennesaw State Owls Saturday afternoon. A KSU team entering the contest at 3-0 in conference play fought hard, but the Bisons sported the balanced scoring attack that has characterized their ASUN games thus far. Freshman guard Will Pruitt led the team with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Mt. Juliet native went 4-8 from the floor in 35 minutes. Fourth-year center Ahsan Asadullah produced his sixth double-double on the year, scoring 10 points and securing a team-high 10 rebounds. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Asadullah shot just 4-10 on field goals, but went 1-1 from the 3-point line and added 6 assists and 3 steals. Lipscomb’s key to victory was their paint play behind a 38-33 rebounding advantage and 10 more points in the paint than the Owls. The Bisons took 17 less shots than KSU, but their efficiency led them to outscore their opponents anyway. Lipscomb shot 51% from the floor and 40% from three, both percentages being above their season average. Kennesaw State started lights-out from deep, knocking down a trio of 3-balls to help them to a quick 9-3 lead inside of 3 minutes played. The home team fought back to tie the game at 11 behind a pair of makes from deep by junior guard Greg Jones, and the game was back-and-forth from there. Freshman shooting guard Trae Benham scored 8 first-half points en route to 12 points in a season-high 22 minutes. The Concord, North Carolina-born sharpshooter scored in double for the second straight game...
by Parker O'Neal | Jan 23, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s basketball team came out with a 61-53 home win at Allen Arena to get back on track in conference play against Kennesaw State. After a tough 36-point loss at Eastern Kentucky, Lipscomb looked to move forward in front of their home fans against the Owls from Georgia. Kennesaw State started off strong in the 1st quarter, taking a 14-7 lead. The Bisons went 0-10 from the 3-point line and struggled getting points in the paint as well against a stout KSU defense. Lipscomb did cut the lead to 3 after a stellar block by redshirt junior Maddie Cook, which led to a fast break score by freshman Bella Vinson, but KSU rallied to put the score at 14-7. Kennesaw State continued to shoot a high percentage on the court in the 2nd quarter, but Alexis Poole, who led the Owls with 6 points at the time, left the game with an ankle injury. Poole would return later in the quarter, but the Bisons finally found a spark on offense soon after. Sydney Shelton, a redshirt senior and Butler transfer, started her strong 2nd quarter by breaking the missed 3-point streak with back to back threes, and sophomore guard Blythe Pearson hit the Bisons’ third 3-ball to cut the lead to 3. Shelton continued her strong performance with a kick back assist to sophomore Jalyn Holcomb for 3 followed by a fast break bucket after a steal by St. Louis native Jordan Peete. Shelton, a native of Greenfield, Indiana, finished the half with 13 points and Lipscomb shot efficiently to tally 28 points in the 2nd quarter....
by Danny Kotula | Jan 20, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
RICHMOND, Kentucky – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost handily to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 77-41 at McBrayer Arena Wednesday night. No one managed double-digits for the Bisons, who scored a combined 9 points in the 1st and 4th quarters alone. Despite a stifling EKU defense and a frustrating night from the floor, as Lipscomb shot just 14-55 on field goals, graduate Sydney Shelton and sophomore Blythe Pearson each scored 9 for Lipscomb. Shelton, a Butler transfer from Greenfield, Indiana, went 3-5 on 3-point shots but only made 3-8 from the floor. Pearson shot 4-11 on field goals and added 5 rebounds. Without senior center Dorie Harrison, Lipscomb was outrebounded 46-26 and outscored 22-10 in the paint. Lipscomb’s forwards and center combined for 3 rebounds total, 2 of which came from San Antonio, Texas-born Nicole Hemphill. A difficult first half put Lipscomb against the current from the onset, as EKU made 4 of their first 6 from downtown and built a 12-point lead at the first media break. “[We give EKU] a lot of credit,” assistant coach Chris Sumski said. “They definitely came out hungry. They played really hard on the defensive end, they crashed the boards hard like they always do, and they also made more shots than they normally do.” Lipscomb missed their first 7 3-point attempts and only managed 6 points in the first quarter, taking a 14-point deficit into the second quarter at 20-6 behind 11 points from EKU forward Jayla Johnson. “I think we let their length affect us a little bit,” Sumski said, “in terms of our confidence in finishing at the rim...
by Danny Kotula | Jan 19, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb track and field team finished with strong performances across the board at the Commodore Invitational in Nashville Friday, January 14 and Saturday, January 15. A rare local meet for Lipscomb allowed for fans of the Purple and Gold to attend and cheer the Bisons on to one of their best performances thus far in the still-young spring season. “This weekend was my first local competition and I really enjoyed it,” Aislinn McElhaney, a long jumper from Sevierville, Tennessee, said in a statement. “The biggest advantage to having a competition so close was not having to travel hours away on a bus,” McElhaney said. “Sitting on a bus for a long time can make it harder to get loose and ready to compete, so I was thankful to not have to worry about that this weekend.” The junior responded to her competitive advantage by setting a Lipscomb program record in the women’s long jump for the third time in her career, finishing 6th in the event with a 5.73-meter distance. “The feeling is the same every time I jump,” McElhaney said. “Broken record or not, I am just thankful for the opportunity to compete in the event that I have grown to love over the past few years.” “Long jump brings me so much joy and I give God all of the glory for my success in this event,” McElhaney said. In the high jump category, freshman Bella Jackson put together a 4th-place performance with a jump measuring 1.75 meters. Hailing from the Indianapolis suburb of Whiteland, Indiana, Jackson also broke her own record for a personal best....
by Danny Kotula | Jan 19, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team fell short by a score of 86-72 against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels Tuesday night at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, Kentucky. An EKU team without a conference win came out with fire and filled the scoresheet against the Bisons as 5 players reached double digits in scoring. Tarik Balogun scored a career-high 16 to pace the Colonels, while Devontae Blanton scored 14 and added 13 rebounds. Point guard Braxton Beverly scored 11 points and led the game with 13 assists. Despite efficient 42.6% shooting, the visiting Bisons never could keep pace with the offensive firepower of their opponents. Lipscomb grabbed more rebounds, made more free throws, and scored more points in the paint, but the dagger the Bisons could never remove was EKU’s 3-point shooting. The Colonels knocked in 16-37 3-pointers, scoring 21 more points than Lipscomb from behind the arc. Building on a career-high night Saturday versus Bellarmine, second-year freshman Will Pruitt led the team in scoring for a second consecutive game with 17 points. Pruitt, a point guard from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, shot 6-11 from the field and pulled down 6 rebounds. True freshman guard Trae Benham contributed heavily on the offensive end, pouring in 16 points in 18 minutes. Originally from the Charlotte suburb of Concord, North Carolina, Benham shot 4-7 from deep and picked up 5 rebounds. From the onset, EKU scored well from across the court and made defending them near-impossible for a Bisons squad that has given up 74 or more points in five straight games, all of them ASUN contests. Pruitt put up 5 straight points at the...
