Box Score by Kevin Buczek
MISENHEIMER, N.C.-Senior guard Nyeshea Willie scored a game-high 32 points for visiting Barton College and host Pfeiffer University missed a pair of potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final 15 seconds as the Lady Bulldogs escaped Merner Gym with a 72-69 Conference Carolinas women's basketball victory Wednesday evening.
Barton improved to 11-13 overall and moved a half-game ahead of Erskine College (lost to Limestone on Wednesday) for sixth place in the league standings with a .500 conference record of 8-8. The Lady Bulldogs return home for Senior Day on Saturday against Converse College in the Dog House at 4 p.m.
Senior Ashley Thornton made the back end of two free throws to give Barton its three-point lead with 19.6 ticks on the clock. Junior Carter Williams took the Falcons first look at a potential tying trey but the errant shot bounced off a Lady Bulldog and out of bounds for a second opportunity by Pfeiffer. The Lady Falcons made a couple quick passes after inbounding the ball to set up a good look by freshman Vivian Doerr but her attempt just missed and fell to the middle of the paint as time expired.
Pfeiffer stumbled to 4-19 overall and 3-12 in the league.
Willie, who earlier in the day was named Conference Carolinas Player of the Week, scored nearly half of her 32 points on 14 of 17 precision from the free throw line. Junior forward Brianna Thomas flirted with a double-double by posting 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Classmate Kaila Lea had a productive performance with nine points, seven rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Three Falcons scored in double figures including 16 points by Williams, who nailed four 3-pointers. Junior Lauren White tallied 15 points and game-high totals of nine rebounds and six blocks. Freshman Alexis Stallard added 13 points.
Willie scored 18 points in the first half to provide the Lady Bulldogs with the lead for most of the period. Pfeiffer held its only two leads of the contest early at 5-4 on a junior Carlisha Holivay basket and at 10-9 on freshman Ariana Tillman layup.
The Falcons tied the score a couple minutes later at 13-13 but the Lady Bulldogs scored the next nine points while holding Pfeiffer scoreless for 4 1/2 minutes to take the lead for good. A three-pointer by Willie at the 7:30 mark gave Barton its largest lead of 11 at 29-18. However, Pfeiffer finished the half with a 13-7 rally over the final five minutes to close the halftime deficit to four points. Freshman Amy Steller made a pair of free throws in the final minute to close out the Falcons late push to inch the score to 40-36 at the intermission.
Willie was 5 of 10 from the field and 6 for 6 from the free throw line en route to her 18 points at the break. Freshman guard Tiffany Webster chipped in all seven of her points before the midway break.
Willie netted the first points of the second half on a layup but Pfeiffer swished the next two hoops by White and Stallard to inch the hosts to within two points at 42-40. Barton answered with its second 9-0 outburst to increase its cushion to 11 at 51-40.
A freshman Shatisha Duke layup followed by a Thomas baseline jumper a minute later kept the Bulldogs up nine, 63-54, as the clock ticked inside six minutes. The Falcons scored seven of the next nine points to narrow the margin to four at 65-61 but a pair of Willie free throws and a Lea steal and transition basket quickly doubled up BC's advantage to eight points.
White kept Pfeiffer's hopes alive by completing a three-point play with 1:38 on the clock. Willie responded with a pull-up basket in the paint but a quick three-pointer by Stallard crept the Falcons to 71-67 with just less than a minute to go in regulation. White then made a steal that led to a Stallard layup to pull Pfeiffer to within one possession at 71-69. Barton was whistled for a travel just moments later giving the ball back to the Falcons but Thornton redeemed the mistake with a steal and was immediately fouled. Thornton converted on her second attempt to force Pfeiffer to take three-pointers at the end instead of going inside.
Barton finished with a 51-45 rebounding edge. Both squads made 24 field goals and committed 16 turnovers in the tightly contested contest despite the Lady Bulldogs clinging to a single-digit lead for most of contest. BC did manage a 15-6 surplus on second-chance points and 14-8 margin on fast break points.
