GAFFNEY, S.C. –Queens University of Charlotte (10-10, 9-5) dropped a game to Limestone College (13-7, 9-5) in a tale of two halves this evening at the Timken Center. The Royals were forced in to a tie with the Saints in the conference standings after tonight's loss.
Limestone grabbed an early 7-2 lead over the Royals in the opening minutes of play. However, the first half shooting bug that has haunted the team all season reared its ugly head as the Saints shot an anemic 1-for-20 (5%) over the next 15:27.
Meanwhile, Queens took advantage of the Blue and Gold's shooting woes with a 10-0 counterattack. Melissa Thomas (Havelock, N.C., Havelock) and Dyonna Battle (Rocky Mount, N.C., Rocky Mount) connected on fast break points during the run, putting the visitors out in front by a count of 14-7 with 13:46 remaining in the half.
The Saints snapped the run with a Kaleigh West jumper from the elbow before Nastashia Mitchell added a free throw to help the Saints climb back to within four, 14-10. However, the Royals strung together eight straight points to expand their margin to 22-10. During the stretch, Marissa Hudley (Charlotte, N.C., Harding University )contributed four points on a layup and a pair of free throws while Thomas added a bucket to give Queens a 12-point advantage.
After Limestone found some offensive rhythm to close the half, the Royals quickly used a quick 4-1 spurt to expand the lead back to double digits.
Queens entered the break with a 28-19 advantage over the home team.
The Saints began the second half with much better accuracy as Maria Young drilled back-to-back treys to start the second frame, pulling the Saints to within 28-25. Queens quickly countered with a 6-0 run to push the margin back to nine points with 14:47 remaining in the game.
Trailing 38-32 with 8:28 remaining in the game, Limestone turned up the defensive pressure, holding Queens to just one field goal over the next 6:53, and unleashed a three-point barrage to spark the decisive 19-2 run. Battle and Hudley each hit from outside down the stretch but it was not enough to overcome the large deficit as Limestone collected the 56-46 final.
The Royals outscored the home team 26-14 in paint production although Limestone commanded the boards with a 47-40 margin. The Saints capitalized on turnovers as they outpaced Queens 28-6 in points off turnovers, including a 19-0 difference in the second half.
Hudley finished with a double-double for the Royals as she finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She also finished with a team-high two blocks. Battle finished with 11 points and six boards while Shonice Pettaway chipped in eight points.
Hudley is now 33 rebounds away from taking over the top spot of the women's basketball all-time rebounders list.
Young led the Saints with a game-high 16 points while also pulling down six boards. West contributed 13 points to round out the double digit scoring and grabbed five rebounds off the offensive glass. Williams put together a near double-double performance with eight points and eight rebounds while dishing out a game-high six assists. Stephanie Hayes also put in a near double-double effort with eight points and nine rebounds and Robinson grabbed nine boards.
The Royals will look to get back on track against Converse College on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Queens will be participating in the Think Pink event on Saturday supporting efforts to cure breast cancer.
