Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Nyeshea Willie scored a game-high 22 points for No. 2 seed Barton College but third-seeded Pfeiffer University shot 55.6% in a slight 78-55 upset in the semifinals of the 2013 Conference Carolinas Tournament on Friday night in the Dog House.
The Falcons (24-5 overall), who are ranked eighth in the current NCAA Southeast Region Top-10 poll, will host the championship game against fifth-seeded Mount Olive College on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The sixth regionally ranked Lady Bulldogs (21-7) will have to wait until selection Sunday to find out if the team will return to the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive year. The selection show will air on NCAA.com at 10 p.m. Sunday night.
First Team All-Conference honoree Christina Harvey led four Falcon scorers in double figures with 21 points. Harvey was just two rebounds shy of a double-double. Second Team All-Conference selection Brittany Cox and Bridget Rothert each bucketed 17 points while Jodie Lemons poured in 14.
Barton entered the game 10th in the nation in scoring defense holding opponents to just an average of 53.1 points per game but the Falcons soared to the 23 point win by canning 30-of-54 (55.6%) field goals including 8-of-17 (47.1%) from three-point distance. The 78 points was the most allowed by the Bulldogs defense all season.
The hosts started strong taking a quick 8-2 lead a little over four minutes into play that included a pair of hoops by senior center Janae Jackson. The Lady Bulldogs continued to lead 12-7 at the 12:25 mark on a layup by senior Elaine Morgan before the Falcons made their big move.
Pfeiffer – ranked fifth nationally in made three-pointers – took little time to recover and pull out to a 29-14 lead with a lengthy 22-2. The Falcons heated up during the rally making 9-of-11 field goal attempts over that span including four 3-pointers. The visitors held a double digit lead for nearly the rest of the period until a senior Shante Neal layup with 26 seconds left pulled Barton to within nine. Cox answered for Pfeiffer on the last possession of the half backing down the paint in the final seconds before making a difficult turnaround five-foot shot to send the Falcons into the locker room leading 37-26.
Pfeiffer made 5-of-8 (62.5%) three-point attempts in the first 20 minutes while holding the Lady Bulldogs to just 1-of-10 (10%) accuracy.
Barton started the second half on a 9-4 run that was capped by a Willie trey that cut the deficit to just six points at 41-35. Rothert immediately countered with her third made 3-pointer just 23 seconds later that ignited a decisive 18-4 surge. The Falcons then maintained at least a 15-point advantage before pulling out to the 23-point victory.
Pfeiffer seemed to dominate all areas of the game including a 36-30 edge on the boards. The Falcons fired with precision because of great distribution of the ball finishing with 19 assists on 30 made baskets. The depleted Pfeiffer lineup that only had eight active players also played disciplined defense only committing 11 fouls.
Neal – a Third-Team All-Conference honoree – flirted with a double-double for Barton with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds. Willie scored 18 of her 22 points in the second half but needed 22 shot attempts to get her game-high total after going just 1-of-10 from behind the arc. Junior Ashley Thornton chipped in six points, four rebounds and three steals.
Lemons added seven rebounds and a game-high five blocks to her 14 points. Cox handed out six assists.
