ORANGEBURG, SC—SC State had three players to score in double-figures but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Bulldogs suffered a 67-60 loss to the UNC-Asheville at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
SC State appeared to have their offense working as they jumped out to an early six point lead (8-2) at the 13:27 minute mark of the first half. UNC-Asheville (UNC-A) then went on a 12-7 run to take a one point lead (16-15) at the 7:52. The Bulldogs maintained its lead throughout the first half and led at intermission by eight, 35-27.
UNC-A did not lose their momentum as they as they increased their half-time lead to 14 (47-33) at the 14:25 mark. SC State went on an 18-9 run over the next nine minutes to pull within six at the 5:20 mark (51-57). The Lady Bulldogs would cut the score to four (57-61) with a little under one minute remaining, but could not get any closer as they fell by seven, 67-60.
“We did not execute our game plan,” said Lady Bulldog head coach Doug Robertson. “They had too many uncontested layups and we allowed them to dictate the tempo.”
Freshman Lauren Johnson scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs in the loss. Senior Sophilia Hipps recorded a double-double, 14 points-12 rebounds, and sophomore Brijan Turner scored 11 points as SC State fell to 1-1 on the season.
UNC-A had four players to score in double-figures and two to record double-doubles. Linda Aughburns scored 14 points and pulled in 10 rebounds while Chioma Okoli scored 13 points with 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Lindsey Thompson scored 12 and Kendall Shepard scored 11 as the Bulldogs improve to 1-1 on the season.
The Lady Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 21 when they host Furman University in a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.