Box Score WILSON, N.C.-All five Lady Bulldog starters scored in double figures as No. 1 seed Barton College defeated eighth-seeded Lees-McRae College 86-62 in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday in the Dog House.
Barton – ranked No. 6 in the current NCAA Southeast Region Poll – will host No. 5 seed Queens University of Charlotte in the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. The Royals upset No. 4 Pfeiffer Tuesday.
The Lady Bulldogs avoided a first round upset that the program experience last season, improving to 23-4 overall. LMC ended its season with a 6-20 record.
Senior Jamila Johnson (Garner, N.C.) led the quintet of Barton starters with 20 points. Freshman Nyeshea Willie (Virginia Beach, Va.) followed with 14 points. Senior Kelsey Sill (Raleigh, N.C.) and junior Jannetta Robinson (Willard, N.C.) canned 12 apiece; and sophomore Jolanda Mitchell (Raleigh, N.C.) swished 11.
Sill scored 10 of her 12 points and grabbed seven of her eight rebounds in the first half as Barton led by as many as 16 in the first half before taking a 49-37 advantage into the halftime locker room. Johnson led all players at the intermission with 14 points.
Lees-McRae made five of its first six shots in the second half to start the final period on a 12-3 run. A three-pointer by sophomore Candace Flowers (Charlotte, N.C.) three minutes later kept the Bobcats within one possession, 58-55.
After trading baskets on the next set of possessions, Barton took control with a decisive 19-0 run. The Bulldogs made seven steals during the stretch while holding the Bobcats scoreless for nine minutes and 36 seconds. Robinson scored eight points during the surge.
Barton totaled 14 steals including four by Mitchell and three by both Sill and Johnson. Lees-McRae committed 28 turnovers that led to 32 Bulldog points including 24 on fast break opportunities.
Willie had a team-high nine rebounds as BC won the battle of the boards 48-39 even without leading rebounder sophomore Janae Jackson (Fort Belvoir, Va.).
Junior sharp-shooter Janina Thurau (Berlin, Germany) paced the Bobcats with a game-high 21 points. Thurau, who ranks third in the conference in made 3-pointers per game, swished 5-of-9 attempts from behind the arc. Freshman Melissa Jensen (Aarhus, Denmark) added 11 points. Flowers and sophomore Zukye Smith (Chesterfield, Va.) both recorded six points and six rebounds.
The sophomore duo of Faith Hunter (Raleigh, N.C.) and Shante Neal (Spring Hope, N.C.) came off the bench to score nine and eight points, respectively, for the hosts.
BC shot 43.4% (33-of-76) from the floor and 84.2% (16-of-19) from the free throw line. LMC made 38.1% (24-of-63) from the field and only 50% (6-of-12) on freebees.
