ROME, Ga. - Head coach Vic Mitchell earned his 500th career victory as the Shorter Lady Hawks defeated the Alabama Huntsville Chargers, 72-59, in the Gulf South Conference tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
Shakierya McClendon had a night to remember for SU, scoring a game-high 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting. She made her first basket just three seconds after tipoff to give the Lady Hawks a 2-0 lead. Shorter's lead lasted a short time as Huntsville answered with a layup of its own on the next possession. After the Chargers took a brief lead, Taylor Adams scored her first points with 5:25 remaining in the quarter to the Lady Hawks a one-point advantage. Following Adams' layup, neither squad led by more than a point until a UAH layup in the closing seconds of the period made the score 13-10 in favor of the visitors at the end of the first.
Shorter opened the second quarter with a 12-1 run over the first 3:41 to take a 22-14 lead. Raven Fair's and-1 started the run and four other players contributed points, including McClendon who scored 4 of the Lady Hawks first 12. The Chargers answered SU's run with a 9-0 run via back-to-back 3-pointers from Baylee Johnson. However, Shorter went on a second run, thanks to McClendon. With her team down one, the senior guard scored six of eight points for SU, helping the home team take a 30-25 lead into the locker room.
Early in the third, the Lady Hawks could not pull away from the Chargers. McClendon continued her outstanding play by scoring Shorter's first four points but Huntsville came back within one. Madison Rice scored five points to push her team's advantage to 41-38 and from there, the Lady Hawks began to pull away. Adams' layup and free throw stretched Shorter's lead to eight with 16.6 seconds remaining in the third, while Brittany Greene's jumper at the buzzer gave the Lady Hawks its first double-digit lead, 55-45, heading into the final quarter.
Shorter raced to a 16-point advantage in the fourth. Kayla Tillie's 3-pointer gave the Lady Hawks a 63-47 lead. SU led by a 20-point margin, its largest of the game, with 61 seconds remaining as senior Maggie Peeples connected from deep. When the clock hit zero, the Lady Hawks came out ahead, 72-59
McClendon led all scorers with 23 points. Adams added 15 for Shorter, while Tillie had seven. The Lady Hawks shot 49% from the field, while Huntsville made 44.7% of its attempts.
The win gives Shorter 20 wins for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Next, the Lady Hawks will face 2-seed Delta State in GSC tournament semifinals on Friday in Birmingham, Ala. The remainder of the tournament will played at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University. Tipoff between DSU and Shorter is set for 3:30 PM EST.
