WILSON, N.C. – The Barton women's basketball team (21-1, 17-1) gave its six seniors the proper sendoff with an 87-55 win over Converse (3-18, 2-16) Friday evening in a Conference Carolinas game at Wilson Gymnasium. Barton is ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division II.
Senior forward
Jami Tham (Arlington, Va.) led all scorers with 21 points and hit exactly 1,000-points for her career while senior All-American center
Shanika Peterkin (Virginia Beach, Va.) added a double-double – 19 points and 14 rebounds – as the Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to 15 games and remained at the top of the conference standings.
Tham became the 16th member of the exclusive club for the Bulldogs, who limited the Valkyries to just 34 percent shooting for the contest (22-of-64) including 13 percent (two-of-15) from behind the three-point line. Converse, which suffered its 14th straight loss, was paced by Alisa Davenport (Rolesville, N.C.) with 14 points but was the lone player to score in double figures for the visitors.
Barton jumped out to a 20-8 advantage after one quarter of play and never looked back. The Bulldogs pushed their advantage to a 43-25 mark at halftime and finished the game with 10 treys including six from senior guard
Michelle Gainey (Rocky Mount, N.C.). Gainey hit six three-pointers and totaled 18 points on the night.
Peterkin, who has 1,667 career points and ranked fifth on the school's all-time scoring list, now has 10 double-doubles on the season.
Barton next competes against Chowan in a Conference Carolinas match on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., at Wilson Gymnasium while Converse faces Francis Marion in Florence, S.C., Saturday beginning at 2:00 p.m.
