Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Despite playing just five minutes of the first half due to foul trouble, Barton College senior Nyeshea Willie still managed to pour in a game-high 29 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 66-63 Conference Carolinas victory over visiting Lees-McRae College Saturday afternoon at the Dog House.
Willie, ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division II in scoring at 25.0 points per game, tossed in 21 points in the second half, most of those from the free throw line, where the 89 percent free-throw shooter went 13-of-17 from the charity stripe. She also sank 4-of-5 attempts from behind the 3-point arc in scoring 20-plus points for the 17th time this season.
Barton (10-12, 7-7) held Lees-McRae to just 17 field goals in the game, the second-lowest total of the season for the Bobcats (11-12, 8-6). However, LMC made up for it with 23 free throws in 29 attempts (79.3 percent) in a tightly called game for both sides.
LMC's Lauren Lewis also kept the Bobcats close by making a season-high six 3-pointers on her way to a team-high 22 points. Kerri Belcher added 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds, and Kabrina Truesdale chipped in 10 points and four steals.
Tiffany Webster was the only other player to reach double-figures for Barton, scoring 10 points. Brianna Thomas added nine points and six rebounds, and Kaila Lea passed out a game-high five assists.
Barton never trailed in the game, as Willie made her first three shots of the contest, two of them from 3-point range, to give the Lady Bulldogs a quick 8-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Lees-McRae didn't score until a pair of Lewis free throws at the 15-minute mark, and missed its first 10 field goals before a layup by Belcher with 13:29 left in the half.
However, the play that sent Lewis to the line gave Willie her second foul of the period, and she would go to the bench for the rest of the half. Barton's offense stalled without its floor leader, and the Lady Bulldogs missed their next five shots and turned the ball over twice, allowing the Bobcats to overcome their slow start.
Lees-McRae pulled to within one point on two occasions in the first half, the second time at 10-9 on the second of two made free throws by Icey Patterson.
However, Barton got a field goal in the paint from Kia Funderburk on its next possession, starting a 5-0 run. Lewis interrupted the spurt with a 3-pointer, but the Lady Bulldogs got a tip-in by Thomas and a jumper by Caila Carter to go up seven at 19-12 with 6:56 left in the period.
The Lady Bulldogs took a 29-23 lead into intermission, but a free throw by Alyssa Munson and a 3-pointer by Lewis quickly cut the deficit to just two at 29-27.
Willie answered with a 3-pointer of her own and Webster followed with a jumper to push the Barton lead back to seven again, but Lees-McRae once again closed to within two on a Lewis 3-pointer at 36-34 five minutes into the second half.
Barton went up nine again on a Willie free throw at the 11:45 mark, then LMC closed to within three at 48-45 on a Munson free throw with 9:46 left before the Lady Bulldogs finally surged in front by double-digits on a 3-pointer by Willie that gave Barton its biggest lead of the game at 57-46 with 7:26 to go.
The Lady Bulldogs held a seemingly comfortable eight-point cushion at 66-58 following a pair of Willie free throws with 2:09 to go, but a quick 3-pointer by Lewis, a turnover by Barton and a layup by Truesdale pulled the Bobcats within three points with 1:30 remaining.
Barton missed a shot, got the offensive rebound and then turned the ball over on a steal by Belcher with 41 seconds left, but Lewis missed a pair of potential game-tying 3-pointers in the waning moments, one with 37 seconds left and one with three seconds to go.
Barton shot 45 percent from the floor in the game (21 of 46), while Lees-McRae made 17 of 51 (33 percent).
The win for the Lady Bulldogs avenged an earlier 84-72 loss to LMC in Banner Elk, N.C., last month. It also moved Barton into a tie for sixth-place in the league standings, and within one game of the fourth-place slot needed to host a quarterfinal game of the upcoming Conference Carolinas Tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs will travel to first-place Limestone College on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. matchup that was rescheduled from Feb. 12 due to inclement weather.
