Hot-shooting Hornets down Bishop women, 89-46

Rocky Mount, NC - Behind a game-high 23 points from Alicia Sanders, the visiting Hornets of Shenandoah University defeated homestanding NC Wesleyan by an 89-46 score in Saturday afternoon’s USA South women’s basketball action in Everett Gymnasium.  The win ups the Hornets record to 9-3 overall, 2-0 in conference play.  The Bishops are now 4-5 on the season, 1-1 in league action.

The Hornets came out on fire, knocking down their first eight attempts from the floor and 11 of their first 12.  Wesleyan, however, countered the SU attack and held a slim 15-14 lead with 15:20 remaining.  A Shenandoah timeout followed by a 25-3 Hornet run over the next ten minutes gave SU a 39-18 advantage, and the Bishops went into the break down 47-25.

SU shot 57 percent in the half, including 6-of-9 behind the arc.  Unfortunately for Wesleyan, the Bishops went cold from the floor and shot just 28.6 percent in the period.  Sanders netted 17 in the half to lead all scorers.

The second half was much like the first with the Hornets connecting on 48.5 percent of their attempts.  Wesleyan would get no closer than 20 in the opening seconds of the period.  The Bishops knocked down just one field goal in the first ten minutes of the half, allowing SU to push its lead to 40 on several occasions.

Dee Fisher chipped in 11 points to go along with Sanders’ 23 to round out the Hornets’ double figure scorers.  Cassie Womack pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Katherine Flint and Valerie Samples dished out a combined 11 assists.

Freshman Nicole Williams paced the Bishops with 12 points, and Cheyenne Hall grabbed seven boards.

The Bishop women will travel to Christopher Newport on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. USA South match-up with the Captains.