by Cory Guinn
WILSON, N.C. – As the season winds down, the Barton College men's and women's basketball teams play host to the Saints of Limestone College in a weekend conference matchup against Saturday, February 21 at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. in Wilson Gymnasium.
Barton sports information will provide live stats and video for both contests. Women's links: live stats l video Men's links: live stats l video
Barton basketball fans can follow the Bulldogs all season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Lady Bulldogs vs Limestone (Senior night)
Following back-to-back losses, including a 73-69 loss to Erskine on Wednesday night, the Lady Bulldogs (13-14, 12-8) host nationally ranked No. 4 Limestone in the regular season series finale between the two teams. Head coach Wendy Saintsing and the Lady Bulldogs will honor the 2015 senior class during a ceremony on Saturday evening.
Barton is currently tied for fifth place in the league standings with Emmanuel (who is not eligible for postseason play), while Limestone remains atop the league standings as the conference tournament draws near.
The Saints are 25-1 overall with a perfect 20-0 mark in league play. Limestone has won its last 24 games, including a 57-56 victory over King earlier this week on the road.
On January 17, senior guard Kaila Lea scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor, including 7-of-12 from three-point range, with seven rebounds as the Barton College women's basketball team suffered a 64-63 defeat at the hands of the Saints in Gaffney, S.C.
Despite a late seven-point lead for the Lady Bulldogs, the Saints closed out the game on an 8-0 run to secure the one-point victory on their home floor and remain unbeaten in league play.
Senior Briana Thomas was the Lady Bulldogs' second leading scorer in the loss, notching a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes of play as the Limestone defense was able to force 25 Barton turnovers, converting them into 29 total points off of turnovers.
Limestone leads the conference with 74.3 points per game on the offensive end, led by senior forward Alicia Brookins with 14.5 points on 54 percent shooting from the floor and seven rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Jasmine Kearse follows with 10.3 points per contest, while redshirt-senior Celestra Warren adds 12.5 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds of her own.
As a team, the Lady Bulldogs average 65.3 points per game, while ranking fourth in scoring defense allowing 63.9 points and ranking second in the conference with 10 steals per game.
Lea continues to pace Barton with 13.1 points per game and Thomas averages 10.3 points per game while leading the team with 7.6 rebounds and recording three double-doubles in her last four games on the court.
Sophomore Tiffany Webster, who has averaged 14.6 points per game over her last five games, is the team's second-leading scorer with 11.1 points and a team-high 2.7 assists per game, while fellow sophomore Shatisha Dukes has risen her season averages to 9.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game after totaling 20 points and 13 rebounds against Erskine.
Bulldogs vs Limestone
The Barton men's basketball team (13-13, 9-9) rebound from a bit of a rough stretch with a convincing 63-44 victory over visiting Erskine College on Wednesday night in Wilson.
The Bulldogs now face Limestone (6-21, 6-13) looking to secure a regular season series sweep after defeating the Saints 75-72 on Jan. 17 in Gaffney. Limestone has lost its last two games and eight of the last 10, including an 80-50 loss to King earlier this week.
In the first meeting of the regular season, the Bulldogs shot a season-high 53.3 percent from three-point range en route ot the three-point victory.
Junior guard Jake Veasley led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc while collecting six rebounds in the victory. Sophomore Kendall Patterson totaled 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range as well as totaling six steals and five rebounds of his own.
Freshman Danny Shand was the team's second-leading scorer with 15 points, five points and four assists, while senior Ryan Canoy chipped in six points and a game-high eight rebounds in 26 minutes of play.
Barton's offense ranks third among Conference Carolinas schools, scoring 81.9 points per game and pulling down a league-high 41.3 rebounds per game. In contrast, the Saints average 66.1 points on 41.9 percent shooting from the floor while allowing 72.6 points per contest on the defensive end.
The Bulldog defense will be tasked with stopping the league's third-leading scorer in forward Shaq Dance who leads Limestone with 18 points on 48.1 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from three-point range.
Barton's top scorers are Shand (16.1 points per game, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals) and Veasley (14.9 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, 39.8 three-point percentage), who place seventh and eighth respectively in the individual points per game rankings within the conference.
Junior Dominique Byrd has increased his season averages to 9.3 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game, while Canoy chips in 8.1 points on 47.4 percent shooting from the floor and 4.8 rebounds of his own.
