MARS HILL, N.C.- The Queens University of Charlotte women's basketball team (2-4, 1-4 SAC) won its first South Atlantic Conference game of the season defeating the Mars Hill University Mountain Lions (0-8, 0-6 SAC) on Saturday afternoon, 68-65.
 
Queens jumped on the Lions early scoring five triples in the first quarter and scoring 10 fastbreak points to lead by as much as 15 in the period. They would go on to take a 20-12 lead into the second quarter after the Lions strung together a 6-0 run to close.
  
The second quarter was much of the same as Kalaya Hall got the Royals going with a three-pointer at the start of the period. The Royals' aggressive play resulted in them outscoring Mars Hill 15-8 in the quarter. A fastbreak layin from Mikayla Sink at the buzzer put the Royals on top 35-20 heading into the halftime break.  
 
The Royals were able to hold their own in the third scoring 21 points on 47 percent shooting despite the Lions' offense coming alive as they scored 23 points on 43 percent shooting. The margin sat at 13 points heading into the final 10 minutes of action as Queens led, 56-43.
 
The Lions carried all the momentum into the fourth quarter using an 11-0 run to take over the lead, 65-64, with just 1:03 to play. However, Hall would step up knocking down a jumper in the paint on the next possession for Queens to return the lead to the Royals. Hall then collected the rebound on Mars Hill's attempt to regain control and was fouled and sent to the charity stripe where she knocked down a pair to secure the Royals' victory.
 
Hall finished with 23 points to lead all on the court, while Hamze added a season-high 18 points. Kiana Barkhoff totaled six points and 11 rebounds.
 
Mars Hill was led by Zanah Boyd who totaled 20 points. De'Ja Marshall recorded a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
 
The Royals will continue play on the road traveling to Newberry on Wednesday, Dec. 8. They will return home to play Coker on Saturday, December 11 at 2 p.m.
 
Be sure to follow the Royals on Twitter @queenswbb and Instagram @queenswbb to stay up to date on all the latest news surrounding the women's basketball program. Additionally, follow Queens Athletics on all social media platforms by searching @QueensAthletics.