GAFFNEY, S.C.- Limestone's Tierney Burdett (Peoria, Ill.) lifted her team to a 63-62 win over Queens with two made free-throws with only seconds left on the clock. Limestone climbs to 8-7 in Conference Carolinas play (10-10 overall) with tonight's win at the Timken Center. Queens falls to 10-5 in the league (11-9 overall).
Whitney Todd (New Albany, Ind.) led the Lady Saints with 20 points and seven rebounds. Addie Graves (Columbia, S.C.) added 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Burdett contributed nine points and six rebounds.
Erin Goldner (Matthews, N.C., Piedmont) was the only Queens player to reach double-scoring figures as she scored 16 points. Marissa Hudley (Charlotte, N.C., Harding University ) posted a team-high seven boards.
It was a close game from the start with all five lead changes of the period occurring in the first 10 minutes of play. The Lady Saints started to take control of the contest at the 9:09 mark, and had as much as a 10-point lead (23-13) with 4:24 left on the clock. Queens fought back as the half ended with Limestone leading by six (29-23).
During the first half, the Lady Saints shot 37.5% from the field (12-32), compared to Queens' 32% (8-25). However, the Royals made seven of their 10 free-throw attempts to stay in the running.
The second half was a battle with 15 lead changes, with six of those taking place in the final five minutes. With 1:46 left on the clock, Queens' Goldner sank a two-point shot to tie the game 60-60, but Limestone regained the lead after a made free throw by Todd. The Royals answered with two free-throws from Goldner to go ahead by one (62-61). With 12 seconds remaining in the game, Burdett was fouled while making an offensive rebound. She made both of her free-throw shots to give Limestone the 63-62 victory.
Both teams had better shooting in the second period, with Queens posting a 59.3 field-goal percentage (16-27) and Limestone going 11-25 (44 %).
Both teams recorded 17 points from turnovers during the game, with Queens committing 20 turnovers and Limestone only committing 16. The Royals out-rebounded the Lady Saints 34-31.
Limestone travels to Banner Elk, N.C., on February 9 to take on Lees-McRae at 5:30 p.m. The Royals travel to Wilson, N.C., to play Barton College on February 9 at 5:30 p.m.
