Box Score BANNER ELK, N.C.-Barton College sophomore Janae Jackson recorded her second double-double of the season in a 76-52 win at Lees-McRae College to strengthen the Lady Bulldogs grip on first place in the Conference Carolinas standings.
Jackson – a 5-foot-10 center from Belvoir, Va. – dominated the paint by pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds and swishing 14 points. Freshman Nyeshea Willie (Virginia Beach, Va.) topped her career-best point total for the second straight outing with a game-high 18 points. Willie had the hot hand bucketing 6-of-11 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws.
The No. 5 Southeast Region ranked Lady Bulldogs started both halves with 10-0 runs en route to the team's fifth coast-to-coast win of the season. Barton boasts 15-2 overall and 11-0 league records after winning its ninth straight contest. BC has won 29 straight Conference Carolinas regular season games. The Lady Bobcats fall to 3-11 and 3-6.
Barton will wrap up a three-game road swing at archrival Mount Olive College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Make-A-Wish fundraiser game for both institutions is a matchup of the top two teams in Conference Carolinas. The Lady Bulldogs hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the Trojans (11-5, 8-2).
Junior Jannetta Robinson (Willard, N.C.) was the third Bulldog starter in double digit scoring with 12 points. Sophomore Shante Neal (Spring Hope, N.C.) complimented the starters with a team-best nine points off the bench.
Willie got the Lady Bulldogs off to a hot start with the games first six points, sandwiching a pair of fast break layups around a made 10-foot jumper on the left baseline. Barton jumped out to a 10-0 lead and after Lees-McRae scored its first four points strung together 11 more points to take a sizable 21-4 advantage less than nine minutes into play.
BC made 9 of its first 18 shots but were held to just 5-of-22 accuracy for the rest of half as the Bobcats kept within striking distance, 33-21, at halftime. Turnovers plagued both squads in the first half with the hosts committing 16 of the 30 mistakes.
Robinson converted on a pair of free throws and made a layup in the first minute of the second half as Barton duplicated its first half start with another 10-0 outburst. The Bulldogs led by as many as 30 in the final 20 minutes.
Barton had its best free throw shooting performance of the season as the Lady Bulldogs converted on 12-of-13 attempts from the charity stripe for a sizzling 92.3%. Barton was more accurate in the second half at 48.5% to finish the day firing at 41.1%. Lees-McRae was held to 31.0% from the floor.
Sophomore guard Icey Patterson (Seneca, S.C.) was the only Lady Bobcat in double figures with 13 points.
Barton was coming off its worst rebounding game of the season at St. Andrews when they were out-rebounded by 24 but the Bulldogs did a much better job on the backboards Saturday. The Royal Blue and White finished with a commanding 50-35 rebounding surplus against Lees-McRae, including 17 offensive boards. Senior Jamila Johnson (Garner, N.C.) and sophomore Jolanda Mitchell (Raleigh, N.C.) both yanked down seven boards.
Johnson and sophomore Faith Hunter (Raleigh, N.C.) each handed out four assists as Barton recorded helpers on 19 of its 30 made goals. Willie made a game-high four steals.
