ROME- The Shorter Hawks returned to the win column Saturday afternoon, with a 63-55 win over Lees-McRae that snapped the Bobcats eight-game win streak.
Amiya Redus led the Hawk charge early, scoring the first six points to put Shorter ahead. The visitors responded by going on a 12-2 run to take the 13-11 lead. Rhyan Wilson evened up the affair as she nailed a jumper with a minute left in the first frame, as both teams entered the second tied at 13.
After a slow start for both sides, Amari Butler made an immediate impact by connecting on a bonus distance bucket to break the ice and put the Hawks up three. The Hawks' offense continued to push forward, as they pushed their lead out to seven. After a brief exchange of buckets, Chelsy Singleton nailed a three just before the break to cement the Hawks' lead as they entered halftime in front 31-25.
Aijah Manning started the third quarter with a bang after a drive down the avenue helped extend Shorter's lead. Despite this, the Bobcats left the locker room with a fire that blazed their way to a 10-0 run to take the lead halfway through the quarter. Amari Butler would bank a floater from the paint to tie it back up, but Lees-McRae would score seven more unanswered to build a cushion of their own, entering the final frame up 44-38.
Amya Patterson dialed one from deep to shave down the Bobcats' lead to three as they entered the final frame. After a Bobcats counter layup to build their lead back to five points, Patterson responded with yet another triple to shave down the lead to two. Aijah Manning then took it all the way to the rim to tie the score at 46 all halfway through the fourth. Shorter continued to push their lead out thanks to a great one-two punch of Chelsy Singleton and Amya Patterson. The Bobcats made one last push, but it would not be enough as the Hawks claimed the 63-55 victory.
The Hawks shot well from the field, shooting an efficient 42.4% (25-59). The Hawks also shot well from the charity stripe, going 8-for-12 (66.7%) . Amya Patterson led the Hawks with 15 points on an efficient 5-10 clip, while grabbing five rebounds. Chelsy Singleton had an all-around performance, chipping in 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Aijah Manning rounded out the Hawks' scoring efforts with 10 points and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Hawks will have a quick turnaround as they travel to face Barton this Monday for a 5:00 PM tip-off.
FOLLOW THE HAWKS
For complete coverage of Shorter Women's basketball, follow the Hawks on social media @Shorterwbb (Instagram) or visit the official home of Shorter athletics at goshorterhawks.com
