Despite a back and forth first half, the Lipscomb Lady Bisons extended their losing streak to 10 games in a 82-47 loss to the Stetson Hatters at Allen Arena. The win for the Hatters was their eighth in a row.
The Hatters came out firing on all cylinders after halftime, starting off the second half with a 13-0 run to extend their 11 point lead to 24. The Lady Bisons struggled to find their shooting touch throughout the game as Stetson’s defense was strong from the get-go. The Lady Bisons shot 15-66 from the floor on the game.
Lispcomb especially had trouble behind the arch, finishing the game 6-33 from the 3-point line. The Lady Bisons usual sharpshooters all had trouble finding the basket. Danay Fothergill, Chandler Cooper and Sara Bliss combined to shoot just 3-24 from outside.
One silver lining for the Lady Bisons was the play of sophomore Ashley Southern. Southern almost notched a double-double in the first half with nine points and 11 rebounds. She finished off the achievement in the second half, ending the game with 14 points (on 6-14 shooting) with 16 rebounds. Southern has now recorded a double-double in seven straight games.
Southern is also closing in on the Atlantic Sun Conference record for most double-doubles in a season. She has 16 double-doubles on the season, just five away from the conference record of 21.
“I mean, that’s pretty exciting, but I’d much rather us be number one in the conference,” Southern said.
With the outside shot lacking, the Lady Bisons ran the offense through Southern for most of the game. Even though the offense was riding on her every move on a number of plays, Southern says she approaches every play the same.
“I try and play the same all the time, and they’re going to knock those shots down so I’m not worried about it,” Southern said.
Steson juniors C.J. Coddington and Jama Sharp stood out among a team of solid performances for the Hatters, who had four players score in double figures. Coddington matched Southern’s double-double with one of her own, scoring 10 points on 4-6 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Sharp provided the Hatters with a solid all-around performance as the team’s floor general, posting a line of eight points, five rebounds and six assists. Freshman Amber Porter also had a big game for Stetson, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds, posting a double-double of her own.
Stetson’s leading scorer and only senior Sasha Sims did not start for the Hatters, but she still made her impact on the game felt. She tallied 14 points in the game off of 4-8 shooting, three points short of her season average.
The Lady Bisons will be back in action on the road Thursday, Feb. 6, at Kenesaw State.
Photo credit: Erin Turner