Box Score By Cory Guinn
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College women's basketball team committed 20 turnovers as the Flying Fleet of Erskine turned those miscues into 30 points off of turnovers in a 73-69 victory over the Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday night in Wilson Gymnasium.
Barton fell behind early as Erskine's Ashley Espinosa scored the game's first six points before a three-pointer from freshman Chanel Shannon put the Lady Bulldogs on the board first the first time.
A jumper from sophomore Tiffany Webster followed by back-to-back free throws from senior Kaila Lea put Barton ahead 9-8 with 15:31 left in the first half. The lead would change hands five more times over the next five minutes before Erskine claimed a five-point lead on a three-pointer from Raygon Hendrix midway through the half.
The Lady Bulldogs reclaimed the lead at 26-25 on a Webster three-pointer as back-to-back three pointers from Erskine's Tametra Willis gave the Flying Fleet a 35-30 advantage late in the half.
Erskine carried a slim 37-36 edge into intermission thanks in large part to a 46.2 percent (6-for-13) shooting performance from long range in the opening half of play, while the Lady Bulldogs outscored Erskine 20-12 in the paint over the first 20 minutes of action.
Sophomore Shatisha Dukes would give Barton the lead with a jumper just five seconds into the second half as the Lady Bulldogs used an 11-2 run over the half's first two and a half minutes to build an eight-point lead with 17:32 to play.
The Barton lead held until the 14:06 mark when a layup from Erskine's Tara Potter tied the game at 50-50. Erskine then built a six-point lead on six unanswered points from Espinosa before a three-pointer from Lea and back-to-back jumper from freshman Tatyana Jackson put Barton ahead by one with 11:14 remaining in the game.
Barton and Erskine continued to trade baskets for the next few minutes as Potter scored six of the final 10 points for the Flying Fleet to seal the six-point road win.
Espinosa led the Fleet with a game-high 26 points and six rebounds, while Potter scored 16 of her 20 points in the second half to go along with seven rebounds in 32 minutes.
Dukes recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor and a game-high 13 rebounds. Lea totaled 20 points of her own in 34 minutes, while Webster scored 12 points in the game.
Barton will play in the second game of a three-game home stand on Saturday, February 21 when it hosts nationally ranked No. 4 Limestone College at 5:30 p.m. in Wilson Gymnasium.
