Lady Bisons winning streak ends with loss to FGCU

The Lady Bisons winning streak ended at three as they fell to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 71-49 Thursday evening in Allen Arena. While it was a slow start for both teams, the Eagles held the Lady Bisons to 19 points in the first half. Neither team was able to score in the first five minutes of play. Lipscomb struggled to find holes in the Florida Gulf Coast defense. The Lady Bisons also struggled to free up Ashley Southern for layups down low. Even with Southern’s struggles, she still managed to lead Lipscomb with 12 points. Head Coach Greg Brown talked about the importance of having three players score in double figures. Brown said that freshman guard Emily Eubank played a dominant role in the game, scoring 11 points. “Emily had great poise and composure,” Brown said. “It was good for her, as a freshman, to handle one of the best teams in the league.” Junior shooting guard Alex Banks also scored in double figures, with 10 points. Banks was productive from the field as well as at the free throw line. She shot four for five from the field and was perfect from the foul line. The Eagles came into the game with only two losses and were considered to be the thirtieth best team in the country. Gulf Coast’s leading scorer was Whitney Knight, who scored 18 points. The Eagles also had a strong defensive during the second half, in which they only allowed 30 points. The Lady Bisons would have liked a better outcome, but Brown said the team can build off of what they learned. “We were close on rebounds,” Brown said. “We also...

Bisons struggle during second half in loss to North Florida

It was Star Wars night Saturday in Allen Arena, but the Force was not with the Bisons. Lipscomb lost 75-66 to North Florida, with first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference on the line. This game brought in over 3,000 fans — one of the largest crowds of the season. The Bisons entered the first half strong, with forward Malcolm Smith scoring the first goal of the game. The Bisons ended the first half with a 29-19 lead. “The first 20 minutes are easily the best 20 minutes we’ve played all year on both ends of the floor,” head coach Casey Alexander said. “We made very few mistakes in the first half.” In the second half, North Florida led by 13 points, sparked by 24 from Beau Beech in the second half. Beech led all scorers with 27 points. The Bisons did not go down easily, cutting the UNF lead to single figures. Guard Josh Williams led the team with 21 points. He has double figures in 21 of his last 22 games. “Josh is playing so hard,” Alexander said. “He wants the ball. He wants to be the guy and deliver.” Also in double figures for the Bisons were Smith with 13, followed by guard J.C. Hampton with 12 and forward Talbott Denny with 11. The men’s basketball team was 0-4 in the Atlantic Sun Conference at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season, but this year the team is 4-1 — the best conference start in the history of the program. “Nobody’s happy about the result by any stretch, but this loss is better than several of the wins we’ve...

Volleyball jumps to first place in A-Sun after two win weekend

Halloween was a day for tricks and treats, but in Allen Arena, it was also a day for an important volleyball matchup. The Lady Bisons pulled off a 3-0 victory against conference foe, Stetson in fairly quick fashion. Libero Bri McCombs led the Lady Bisons with a match-high 16 digs. Jordan Huston also posted a match-high 34 assists while adding a service ace and three kills, and Brittnay Estes had a match high .538 hitting percentage. The Student Athletic Advisory Committee organized some fun for the fans also Halloween night. Several athletic teams dressed up in costume while they supported the Lady Bisons. The track and cross country team dressed as the 101 Dalmations. The softball team dressed as phone apps, and women’s basketball dressed as Noah’s ark. Several other athletes dressed up as well. In between the third and fourth sets of the game the athletes handed out candy to any children who were at the game, and they were also dressed in costume. On Saturday the Lady Bisons stepped into the number one spot in the conference after defeating Florida Gulf Coast 3-1. Both squads now have one loss within the conference. Next week, Lipscomb will be traveling to Florida to play North Florida on Friday and Jacksonville Saturday. Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR. Photo gallery by Erin...

Lady Bison soccer team comes up short on senior night

Senior night for the Lipscomb women’s soccer team did not go as planned as they were shut out by Northern Kentucky Friday. Lipscomb attempted more than twice as many shots as NKU, but in the end had nothing to show for it, resulting in a 2-0 loss. Prior to the game, the Lady Bisons honored their three seniors: Karli Crosby, Baylee Linnell and Brittany Rupple. With conference tournament implications on the line, the stakes were very high. NKU’s Aubrey Muench opened the score in the 30th minute to give the Norse a 1-0 lead, then scored again in the 49th minute to seal the win. The Purple and Gold finish the regular season with a 10-6-2 record overall and 4-2-1 in conference. As it stands now, the Lady Bisons will likely head into the Atlantic Sun Tournament as the No. 2 seed, and will have a first round bye before taking on the winner between the No. 3 seed Jacksonville and No. 6 seed Kennesaw State. The two weekend, single-elimination tournament begins next Saturday, Nov. 1, and will conclude Sunday, Nov. 9 at Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Meyers, Fla. For more information about the 2014 Atlantic Sun Women’s Soccer Championship, visit atlanticsun.org/sports.wsoc or go...

Volleyball defeats Belmont in three sets

For the first time since 2011, the Battle of the Boulevard, volleyball edition, returned to Allen Arena. The Lady Bisons defeated the Lady Bruins in three sets Tuesday night. The closest that Belmont came to winning was in the third set, but Lipscomb finished it off winning 25-21. Senior outside hitter Lauren Ford finished off the night with 10 kills. Ford talked about what it means to rekindle the rivalry with Belmont. “The rivalry is huge. It’s awesome coming back on the court and playing again against them,” Ford said. “Some of the younger girls don’t necessarily have that same passion against Belmont, and so it’s fun to kind of teach them that this is how we do it, and this is the way we play against them every time no matter what.” The Lady Bisons took the first set 25-19 and the second 25-17. Junior Brittany Estes led the way for the quick three-and-out game with 13 kills. She was followed by Ford and senior Sophie Kellerman who had eight kills. Sophomore Kayla Ostrom led the team with 32 assists. Belmont is a non-conference opponent, but as far as conference opponents go, the Lady Bisons are undefeated. Prior to the Belmont matchup, they defeated Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson on the road. Lipscomb is now the no. 1 team in conference. The Lady Bisons play Northern Kentucky this weekend, and Ford talked about the importance of winning a midweek match before a conference game. “To have an out of conference game in the middle of season is kind of like a boost,” Ford said. “Every time we’re on...