Box Score
by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.- Janae Jackson posted a double-double and senior point guard Elaine Morgan nearly had a rare triple-double Saturday night as the host Barton College women's basketball team broke open a close game late in the first half and cruised to a 82-58 Conference Carolinas victory.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Lady Bulldogs, now 16-6 overall and 15-3 in the league. Lees-McRae, which lost to Barton in both matchups this season, slipped to 8-13 overall and 6-12 in the conference. Barton now stands second in the league standings and will entertain Queens University of Charlotte on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m.
Jackson, a senior 5-foot-10 center, had her way in the paint to the tune of a season-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for her second double-double of the season. She canned 8-of-14 shots. Morgan, a 5-7 senior point guard, recorded 10 rebounds, 10 assists and nine points for her first double-double. Barton guard Nyeshea Willie, one of the nation's leading scorers, managed 11 points (all in the second half) despite playing only 22 minutes, including just six minutes in the first half. Senior 5-10 forward Shante Neal added 16 points, six boards and four steals for the victors.
Barton shot 49.2 percent (30-of-61) from the floor, including 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range. The Lady Bulldogs also swished 17-of-23 from the line for 73.9 percent. Barton also claimed a 40-33 edge on the boards.
Lees-McRae got 17 points from 5-4 guard Kabrina Truesdale, 16 from guard Lauren Lewis and 12 points and seven rebounds from 6-1 freshman forward Alyssa Munson. The Bobcats struggled from the field, hitting just 18-of-53 shots for 34 percent, although they were 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from downtown and 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) from the foul line.
The visitors led at 2-0 and 4-2, but never did again. Jackson swished 16 points in the opening stanza and snared seven boards while Neal knocked in 10 and 6-foot sophomore Brianna Thomas canned a pair of 3-point bombs en route to 10 points off the bench for the Lady Bulldogs. Truesdale drained 5-of-8 attempts for 14 points and Lewis racked up 11 for the Lady Bobcats.
Despite having Willie saddled with two fouls, Barton maintained a slight edge for most of the half. When Lewis drained a 3-pointer with 3:43 left, Lees-McRae had clawed itself within three points at 36-33. Barton responded with an 11-2 run to take a 47-35 lead into the locker room. Junior Cassandra Brown sank a free throw, Thomas made a follow shot, junior guard Ashley Thornton and Thomas bombed in 3-pointers and Thomas added two more free throws for the 12-point lead.
Barton opened the second half with a 15-8 run while turning up the defense, resulting in just 23-percent shooting (5-of-21) for the Bobcats in the second half. The largest lead of 26 points came after a Willie 3-pointer made it 71-45 at the 10:51 mark. Barton scorched the nets for 60 percent on 15-of-25 shooting in the second half.
The hot shooting was a welcome relief for the Lady Bulldogs, who lost to both Limestone and Pfeiffer in their last two outings as a result of poor shooting.
