Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Nyeshea Willie scored her 2000th career point, Ashley Thornton recorded a career-high 21 points and Molly Thompson hit an early three-pointer that put Barton College ahead for the final 37 minutes as the Lady Bulldogs coasted to a 69-42 Conference Carolinas women's basketball victory over Converse College on Saturday's Senior Day in the Dog House.
The Lady Bulldogs moved into a tie for fifth place in the league standings after Lees-McRae lost to Belmont Abbey, 75-68, on Saturday. Barton (12-13 overall, 9-8 conf.) still has a chance to move up to fourth place in the league standings with a win in its regular season finale at University of Mount Olive on Tuesday (need King and Lees-McRae to lose some games as well). Barton will play in a quarterfinals game of the 2014 Conference Carolinas Tournament on Saturday, March 1 (location will be determined after final seeding is sorted out at the end of the regular season).
All three seniors were big factors in Barton doubling up Converse, 34-17, at halftime. Thompson got her first start of the season and hit the first of eight BC 3-pointers that gave the Lady Bulldogs the lead for most of the game. Thornton led all players into the locker room with eight first-half points. Willie entered the contest needing six points to reach the 2000-point plateau and her trey from the left wing with 49.2 seconds left in the opening period put her at 2,001 points.
Willie, who ranks second in NCAA Division II with 25.2 points per game, looked to be in pain after taking a hard fall on a layup opportunity just a couple minutes before the memorable 3-pointer. She returned to the game shortly going down and achieved the milestone but then did not return to the court in the second half keeping her under 10 points for the first time this season.
The Lady Bulldogs cushion grew to as many as 31 points in the second half against a Valkyries team that has now lost seven straight games. Converse (1-14, 1-16) committed 29 turnovers that included having the ball stolen 17 times.
Freshman Tiffany Webster led Barton's defensive pressure with six thefts. Webster notched nine points and three assists as well.
The Lady Bulldogs turned the 29 Converse mistakes into 27 extra points. The hosts also pulled down 23 offensive rebounds that resulted in 23 second-chance points.
Freshman Caila Carter and junior Brianna Thomas led the Lady Bulldogs on the backboards with 11 and nine rebounds, respectively. BC finished with a 51-47 rebound edge.
Thornton tossed in five 3-pointers en route to her career-high 21 points.
All 13 Bulldogs that played scored. Willie, Thornton and Thompson were honored with classmate Cassandra Brown after the game for their significant careers at Barton. Brown is injured and was unable to play.
Senior center Avery Winchester – who measures 6-feet, 7-inches – posted game-high totals of 14 rebounds and eight blocks for Converse. Erin Horne scored a team-high 12 points and Margo Dill bucketed 10.
Barton will tip-off at Mount Olive at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
