Box Score by Doug Page
GAFFNEY, S.C. – In a matchup between the top two teams in the conference, the Limestone College Saints used a big second quarter performance to hand the Barton College women's basketball team a 68-60 loss on Saturday night at the Timken Center in Conference Carolinas action.
The Lady Bulldogs (19-7, 14-4) now sit in third place in the league standings after Belmont Abbey College defeated King University to improve its conference mark to 15-4. The Saints (21-4, 16-2) got a big offensive performance from Keidra Smith, who scored 18 first-half points for Limestone en route to notching a double-double in the contest.
Junior Dinah Neal tallied 22 points and seven rebounds for Barton before fouling out in the fourth quarter of action. Neal finished the contest 11-of-14 from the free-throw line and notched two steals despite recording six turnovers. Senior Karimah Dean went 4-of-6 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe for a 12-point night. Senior Tatyana Jackson added eight points, six boards, and a game-high four assists for BC, while junior Kianna Wynn tallied seven points and four rebounds. Freshman Shanika Peterkin recorded nine blocks on the night for the Lady Bulldogs. The Virginia Beach, Va. native now has 107 blocks on the season and is averaging 4.12 blocks per game. Redshirt senior Alex Kimble was limited to just three points for BC on 0-of-6 shooting from the field and a 3-for-6 finish at the free-throw line.
Smith finished the game with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting for the Saints while pulling down 11 boards and notching two blocks. Jasmine Richardson went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and did a majority of her scoring in the fourth quarter for Limestone. Richardson finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Jayla Morrow added 12 points off the bench for the Saints.
The Lady Bulldogs had a good start to the night as they earned their chances at the free-throw line, going 9-of-12 in the process. From the floor, it would be a tough start for both teams as Barton went just 3-of-12 from the field while Limestone went 5-of-18. The Saints did their best to get Barton's top players into foul trouble with time winding down in the quarter.
Trailing 17-15 to start the second quarter, Limestone quickly jumped ahead of BC to gain momentum in front of its home crowd. The Lady Bulldogs played a majority of the quarter with sophomore Summer Baer, junior Alonna Terrell, and freshman Tayah Doss on the court. Barton would keep things close on the scoreboard until the half-way point of the quarter. Smith caught fire for the Saints and put some breathing room between two teams with the half approaching.
Barton went 4-of-15 in the quarter from the floor and 0-of-3 from downtown, while the Saints hit half of their shots (8-of-16) and a pair of threes along the way. Limestone outscored BC 20-10 in the quarter to take a 35-27 lead into the half.
Both sides tallied 11 points in the third quarter as Barton was unable to close the deficit on the scoreboard. The Lady Bulldogs shot 41.7 percent in the quarter as they attempted to work their starters back into the rotation.
Offense would be the name of the game heading into the fourth quarter as both teams tallied 22 points. Barton, looking to pull off another comeback victory, took 20 shots in the quarter. The Lady Bulldogs shot 30 percent from the floor but struggled from downtown, going just 1-of-6. Barton would also leave some points at the charity stripe, going 9-of-13.
The Lady Bulldogs rallied to within three points of the Saints with less than three minutes left in the contest. Peterkin earned a pair of shots at the free-throw line and a chance to cut the Limestone lead to a single point. Peterkin would miss both attempts, but the Saints helped the Lady Bulldogs by missing a pair of shots at the other end of the quart. A pair of late free-throws by Richardson would seal the victory for the Saints, despite a late three from Baer with under a minute remaining in the contest.
Barton shot 30.5 percent in the contest from the floor and finished 3-of-15 from downtown. Limestone shot 37.1 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from downtown. The game featured a combined 41 turnovers and 36 points scored off those miscues. Limestone outscored BC 34-18 in the paint and 9-5 in second-chance buckets. Both teams pulled down 43 boards and combined to take a total of 49 penalties.
The Lady Bulldogs travel to Spartanburg, S.C. for a Tuesday matchup against Converse College. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. Barton closes the regular season on the road against the University of Mount Olive. The Conference Carolinas Tournament is scheduled to start on Feb. 26.
