SEASON PREVIEW: Lipscomb women’s basketball begins post-Loren Cagle era

SEASON PREVIEW: Lipscomb women’s basketball begins post-Loren Cagle era

This year’s women’s basketball season brings Lipscomb fans a lot of exciting possibilities. If you ask Lady Bisons head coach Greg Brown, “it’s going to be a fun season.” All things considered, the 2018-19 year might also be a tough season. After finishing last year as a fourth seed that destroyed USC Upstate in the ASUN quarterfinals, the Lady Bisons will return this year with some expectations —but seven former seniors, including superstar Loren Cagle, won’t be there to help. “[The team] expects to go back,” Brown said. “They expect to host [a tournament game]. And I think that’s the thing that we finally have gotten to now, they expect to win. And they expect to go into practice knowing the things that it takes to win.” The Lady Bisons will have to rely on redshirt sophomore forward Emily Kmec, junior guard Lauren Rau, and sophomore guard Taylor Clark, who each had impressive seasons last year. This year’s roster will also feature six freshmen, whom Brown said he anticipates to undergo “a lot of growth.” The schedule is daunting, both in and out of the ASUN conference, featuring road matchups against teams like Clemson, Cincinnati, Belmont and Georgia, alongside home and road games against Florida Gulf Coast and Liberty. “If we continue to work hard, get better and play with a little bit of hunger and a lot of humility, then we’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Brown said. Here are six storylines to watch this season: Loren Cagle’s absence When you look at the stats from last season, Cagle played well over 1000 minutes, converted on 192...
USC Upstate takes down Lady Bisons at senior night

USC Upstate takes down Lady Bisons at senior night

The Lipscomb women’s basketball team was left in the dust during the second half, as USC Upstate powered over 76-67 Wednesday night in Allen Arena. The Lady Bisons put up a strong lead through the first half, but the Spartans proved to be too much for Lipscomb as they stole the court during the second half. The game got off to a fast start, with both teams moving up in points rapidly. Just four minutes into the game, senior Danay Fothergill shot two three-pointers. Fothergill scored 24 points in addition to seven rebounds and four assists in her final career home game. “Fothergill has been very strong of late,” Lipscomb head coach Greg Brown said. “She played with a lot of poise. We did a good job of getting her the ball in rhythm, and she made the shots. She was active on the boards, and got four assists as well. It was a good all-around game.” As the back and forth game continued, Lipscomb remained in the lead. “I liked our energy and effort – I thought those seniors came out and gave great leadership [and] played very hard,” coach Brown said. Momentum slowed down into the second part of the first half, but Fothergill powered down the court, scoring 13 points in the first half. Lipscomb was leading 27-24 at halftime. The Lady Bisons continued gaining momentum into the first part of the second half, leading by five points. Junior Ashley Southern shot a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, also adding four assists. Fothergill and Southern scored a combined 46 points, but that didn’t keep the Spartans from rallying....

Lady Bisons fall in aggressive game against Jacksonville

The Lady Bisons fell to the Jacksonville Dolphins 75-63 Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena. The final five minutes turned in favor of the Dolphins as they suddenly rose to a ten-point lead over the Lady Bisons. “I thought we played very hard, we just had some breakdowns in key turns,” Lipscomb head coach Greg Brown said. The Lady Bisons came out strong in the first half and were leading 35-33 at halftime. Junior Danay Fothergill led the team, scoring twenty-three points total, 10 of which were free throws. “Danay did a great job and took advantage of the mismatches she had,” coach Brown said. Junior Ashley Southern followed by contributing 17 points to the final score, shooting multiple baskets in the paint. The team scored 75 percent of their free throws, resulting in 21 points. “We got them [the Dolphins] into foul trouble,” coach Brown said. Both teams came on to the court with high intensity and renewed energy during the second half. The Dolphins pushed outside the paint, sinking three-pointers and taking advantage of the foul line. The final three minutes were swamped with free throws from both teams. The excitement from the Jacksonville bench overthrew the competition, as the Dolphins shot 16 free throws within the final two. As the season is coming to a close, the Lady Bisons are 8-18 overall and 3-9 in the A-Sun Conference. The Lady Bisons will finish the regular season at home against USC Upstate at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 25. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Lady Bisons lose in close matchup against Stetson

The Lady Bisons lost to the Stetson Hatters 82-77 this Saturday in Allen Arena. The pace set by Stetson proved too much for the Lady Bisons. The Hatters led the entire game, never letting up their energy and intensity. Junior Danay Fothergill led the Bisons, scoring 24 points. Fothergill sunk a total of five threes in the far corners of the court. She also made seven out of eight points from free throws. Lipscomb head coach Greg Brown encouraged smart fouls, but Stetson took advantage by making 83 percent of their free throws in the first half. With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Lipscomb was revived by a technical foul against freshman Emily Eubank. After Eubank made one for two, Fothergill and sophomore Chandler Cooper made threes and brought the score to 23-20. The ladies almost closed the gap by halftime, with a score of 35-33. The beginning of the second half resembled the beginning of the first half. Despite Fothergill’s confidence in her free throws, Lipscomb continued to fall behind. With 11 minutes left, Stetson was back up 64-48. Lipscomb pushed back in the last four minutes to bring the score up to 74-67. Junior Ashley Southern contributed 17 points to Lipscomb’s total. The Bisons pushed to the very last second. The game ended with multiple fouls, but Lipscomb failed to come back and take the victory. The Lady Bisons are headed to Northern Kentucky for a matchup with the Norse on Saturday, Feb. 7. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

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...