Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College freshman Caila Carter recorded the first double-double of her career – 10 rebounds and a season-high 15 points – but Limestone College had its own freshman standout, Jasmine Kearse, who tossed in a game- and career-high 24 points in the Saints' 82-76 victory Saturday evening in Wilson Gymnasium.
The Saints, now 11-4 overall and 6-1 in Conference Carolinas, also received 20 points from Kearse's backcourt mate, junior Ayshia McNeil. Together, the duo shot 8-of-15 from 3-point range, with Kearse draining a season-high six treys on nine attempts.
McNeil and center Precilla Hill each grabbed 10 rebounds for Limestone, which out-rebounded Barton 46 to 37 and out-scored the Lady Bulldogs 38 to 24 in the paint.
Barton, which dropped its second game in a row to fall to 7-8 overall and 4-3 in league play, received 17 points each from junior forward Brianna Thomas and senior guard Nyeshea Willie, with Thomas collecting nine rebounds as well. Senior guard Ashley Thornton contributed 11 points and a career-high seven assists.
Willie, the league's leading scorer at 23.6 points per game, sat the final 11:46 of the first half after picking up her third foul, and remained on the bench for the first seven and a half minutes of the second period as well in playing a season-low 20 minutes.
Ironically, however, it was shortly after Willie's return in the second half that Limestone began to pull away. Leading by three points at 57-54 at the time, the Saints immediately went on a 5-0 run that included a pair of driving layups by Limestone's leading scorer, Celestra Warren, who finished with 10 points.
Willie made two free throws to cut the deficit to seven, but Kearse responded with a 3-pointer to put the Saints up double-digits for the first time, 66-56, with 8:59 to play.
Still trailing by that 10-point margin following a Kearse jumper with 5:30 remaining, Barton put together a brief rally, using a three-point play by Carter and a jumper by Willie to pull within five at 72-67 with 4:51 left.
The Lady Bulldogs closed to within three points at 76-73 on a layup by Willie with 2:15 to go, and the Lady Bulldogs had two possessions to try and tie the game, but freshman Tiffany Webster missed a driving runner on the first and Willie missed a mid-range jumper on the second.
Limestone then ran time off the clock and got a layup by Hill with 50 seconds to play to put the Saints up comfortably by seven, 80-73, and effectively ice the game away.
The Saints shot 45 percent from the field in the game (28 of 61), including 50 percent in the opening half, while holding the Lady Bulldogs to 30 percent from the floor (22 of 64). Barton matched Limestone's eight 3-pointers in the game, but did so on 10 more attempts. The Lady Bulldogs did enjoy an advantage at the free throw line, where they made 24 of 30 (80 percent) while the Saints sank 18 of 27 (66.7 percent).
Carter's big night for Barton came in her first career start, as she was taking the place of injured senior Cassandra Brown. The 6-1 center from Jacksonville, Fla., made 3-of-7 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line in reaching her career high.
Barton looks to get back on track Tuesday night when it hosts Pfeiffer University in a 5:30 p.m. contest.
