by Erika Plunkett | Mar 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
After losing to NJIT on Wednesday and clinching the No. 9 seed in the ASUN, the Lady Bisons fell to the North Alabama Lions on their senior night Saturday afternoon in Florence 71-50. Lipscomb did not have much to play for Saturday, as clinching the ninth seed eliminated the Lady Bisons from the ASUN tournament next week. So, as has been this season’s story for the Bisons (3-24, 1,14 ASUN), they could not maintain their first half intensity and let a three-point game at halftime become an almost 30 point game once in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, the Lions (19-6, 10-5 ASUN) had everything to play for as this game assured them one of the top four seeds in the ASUN and the opportunity to host at least one game in the tournament in their first season as a Division 1 school. The game got off to a slow start as Lipscomb and UNA posted strong defensive performances in the first quarter but were unable to convert on the other end of the court. In this period, the two teams only posted a combined 22 points. Last time these two schools met, it was junior guard Emma Wallen who provided the early spark for the Lions. But today it was a different sister out of the triplet trio — fellow junior guard Ivy Wallen — who was the early conductor for UNA’s offense and led the Lions in scoring in the first half. For the Bisons, the scoring was evenly spread across the roster with all 10 players who entered the game posting at least...
by Erika Plunkett | Feb 20, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
On Tuesday night, the Lipscomb women’s basketball team fell to high-flying Florida Gulf Coast University 80-46 in Nashville. The struggles for the Lady Bisons (3-23, 1-12 ASUN) began before either team took the court. Due to a severe power outage on Lipscomb’s campus, the game was moved from the Lady Bisons’ home court in Allen Arena to a couple miles up the road at Belmont’s Curb Event Center. The Lady Bisons opened the game on a 5-0 run and held the advantage for much of the first quarter. In the first seven minutes, Lipscomb saw six different players record points. When asked about this early momentum, Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said he was not surprised. “It’s how we anticipated coming in,” Brown said. “We had good movement. I thought we mixed up our defense and took them out of rhythm, and we both played pretty well those first four or five minutes. It’s the ability to sustain.” And he was right. Lipscomb was unable to sustain its tempo, and the lead was short-lived, as the Eagles (22-4, 13-0 ASUN) answered with a 27-point run spanning the first and second quarters. Lipscomb’s scoring drought lasted for over 11 minutes until junior guard Anna Hammaker finally found the basket with just under two minutes left before halftime. Much of the Eagles’ success came from outside the arc, as they finished the night with 49 attempts from three-point range, surpassing Lipscomb’s total field goal attempts. FGCU converted on 15 of these attempts, led by junior forward Nasrin Ulel’s five threes. “There’s nothing they do that’s tricky,” Brown said. “They just cut really hard....
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 17, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
KENNESAW, Ga. – The 2018-19 season continues to be tough sledding for the Lipscomb women’s basketball team. Despite a win over Jacksonville last Saturday and a narrow loss to Liberty on Tuesday, the Lady Bisons regressed Saturday afternoon in a 67-36 blowout loss at Kennesaw State. “I did not see this coming,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said. “I liked what we had done over the last few weeks. We had two very good days off practice [after losing to Liberty].” The Lady Bisons (3-22, 1-11 ASUN) committed 24 turnovers and shot just 23 percent (13-of-57) from the floor. Kennesaw State took full advantage by scoring 26 of its 67 points off turnovers. “The missed shots, especially when you miss shots in the paint, mess up your transition getting back [on defense],” Brown said. “When you have 24 turnovers and shoot 23 percent, it’s going to be tough.” The Owls led 28-18 at halftime but used a 12-0 run to start the third quarter to pull away from the Lady Bisons. Kamiyah Street had a game-high 25 points for Kennesaw State and routinely burned Lipscomb’s defense on fast breaks. Owl guard Amani Johnson also had 16 points. “I just tell them to put energy and emotion toward things you can control,” Brown said. “We’ve done a good job of that, for the most part. But we did not do a good job of that today.” Lipscomb freshman Keely Morrow was a bright spot. The forward followed up her 22-point performance at Liberty with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds. “Keely’s had a great few weeks,” Brown said. “Things are...
by Erika Plunkett | Feb 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Injuries continued to plague the Lipscomb women’s basketball team in an 81-60 loss to the second-best team in the ASUN as part of a doubleheader against North Alabama. Sophomore guard Taylor Clark, who currently leads the team in scoring, was ruled out Friday with an undisclosed injury. On the flipside, junior guard Lauren Rau returned to the starting lineup after sitting out on Tuesday. Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said her “intensity” made an immediate impact in a strong first half for the Lady Bisons. The Lions’ (16-2, 7-1 ASUN) sophomore forward Brittany Panetti came into Saturday’s matchup boasting the highest points-per-game mark in the conference, but two early fouls put her on the bench and gave the Lady Bisons (2-19, 0-8 ASUN) early success. Despite UNA junior guard Emma Wallen’s 17 first-quarter points, including five three-pointers, Lipscomb was down by only six at the end of the first quarter. Entering the second quarter, the Lady Bisons went on a 10-1 run led by freshman guard Keely Morrow, who would finish as the Lady Bisons’ leading scorer with 11 points. Part of the second quarter success was fueled by Lipscomb’s points off turnovers, generating its first lead going into halftime since December. But coming back from halftime, the Lions finally got into rhythm, led by Panetti’s return to the game. The second quarter script was flipped, and it was the Lions who went on a scoring run. Wallen also made an impact after scoring zero points in the second quarter with her three-point shooting. She finished the day with a career-high 30 points and was 8-of-13 from behind the arc....
by Charissa Ricker | Jan 30, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb women’s basketball took on the Liberty Flames Tuesday night in Allen Arena and saw its losing streak extend to 17 games in a 77-60 defeat to the ASUN newcomer. The Lady Bisons (2-18, 0-7 ASUN) won the tip-off and slowly found their rhythm after Taylor Clark scored the first points for Lipscomb. Jane Deason then quickly followed with a three-pointer to put the Lady Bisons ahead. The team hit a streak of three-point shots in the first half with the first four shots all coming from beyond the arc. The Lady Bisons ended the first quarter with a 17-10 lead thanks to another three-pointer from Deason. “They’ve worked hard opening up shots on their own and then just shooting it with confidence and they did,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said. “We did a good job of making the extra pass and finding that [girl] that was open inside.” Lipscomb held a steady ten-point lead in the beginning of the second quarter, however, Liberty closed the gap midway through the second quarter. After Liberty (8-12, 4-3 ASUN) took the lead, Clark shot a buzzer-beating layup to cut their advantage to 39-37 at halftime. “We knew they were physical,” Brown said. “We knew they like to play inside and attack like that. We knew we should be able to have chances to reverse the ball and get open looks, which we did. So I mean it played out a lot preparation-wise – everyone was prepared for that and handled that part of it.” Lipscomb started the second half on a rough note, and they did not make a basket until hitting a...
