Smith scores career high to help Reinhardt defeat Bryan
From college reports WALESKA, Ga.
— Former Sonoraville High standout Payton Smith had a careerbest 17 points, one of three players to reach that mark for the Lady Eagles, as No. 22 Reinhardt throttled Bryan, 70-44, in Appalachian Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Brown Athletic Center.
The Lady Eagles (18-2, 10-2 AAC) led by 10 entering the fourth quarter but turned on the jets over the final 10 minutes. Reinhardt went 10-of-20 from the field in the final period, with Erika Woodfin connecting on three 3-pointers, as the Lady Eagles won the quarter 25-9 to put the game away.
Woodfin and former Sonoraville High standout Rebecca Cheeks joined Smith with 17 on the afternoon. Jaleya Mosley scored six points, had six steals, and dealt out six assists.
Reinhardt never trailed in the game, using a 10-0 run over the final four minutes of the first quarter to take an 18-7 lead at the break. Cheeks and Smith each had eight points in the first period.
A basket by Mosley gave the Lady Eagles a 30-17 lead late in the second quarter, but Bryan scored the final four points of the period to make it 30-21 at the half. The lead got as low as five for RU, with a bucket from Megan Billingsby making it 34-29 with just over six minutes to go. RU worked the lead back into double-digits, with Smith draining a 3-pointer and converting a layup on the fast break to make it 42-31. RU would never lead by less than 10 for the duration of the contest.
A season-high 20 steals for Reinhardt led to 31 points off turnovers for the Lady Eagles, with Woodfin and Sara Byers each collecting four to join Mosley’s six. While Bryan out-rebounded RU 38-37, Reinhardt had more offensive rebounds (15-11) and more second-chance points (7-4).
In other recent college basketball news:
Cheeks leads Lee in win over rival Union JACKSON, Tenn.
– Playing in yet another nail biting Gulf South Conference contest the Lee women’s basketball team outlasted Union University, 74-69 on Saturday afternoon.
The two longtime rivals staged yet another epic battle with Union cutting a ninepoint deficit to just three at 70-67 with just 1:24 remaining before clutch foul shots and defense from junior Erin Walsh propelled the Lady Flames to the road victory.
Former Sonoraville High standout Carrie Cheeks led the way for the Lady Flames with 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field and seven rebounds, five coming on the offensive end.
Walsh added 13 points and was a perfect 6 of 6 from the foul line. Haley Cornellison provided a punch off the bench with 11 points and Lindsey Roddy rounded out a balanced scoring attack with 10 points.
“We switched up the lineup today to match up with their four guards and I thought everyone responded well,” said head coach Marty Rowe. “We got a total team effort today with solid performance from Jenna Scoggins, Tori Lentz, Haley Cornellison and Anna Woodford.”
Gaines paced the Union effort with 19 points. Jada Smith tallied 15 points while Jada Perkins had 11 markers and dished off five assists.
Shots were falling for the Lady Flames throughout the contest as they posted a 49 percent mark from the field while drilling 8 of 20 3-pointers (40 percent). Lee also hit 14 of 18 from the charity stripe including four key makes in the final seconds by Walsh.
In addition to shooting the basketball well the Lady Flames defended the 3-point line holding a usually dangerous Lady Bulldogs’ squad to just 3 of 16 shooting (18 percent) from beyond the arc.
Union held a 40-29 advantage on the glass thanks in large part to 20 offensive rebounds.
The closely contested battle featured nine ties and five lead changes. The two teams each took care of the basketball with committing 12 turnovers and Union guilty of just 10.
“We preached after Thursday’s loss about playing as one and playing as a team instead of just for ourselves,” noted Rowe. “That showed up in a big way tonight. We played together as one team and that was the difference in the game.”
After seeing large leads dissipate in two of their last three games the Lady Flames posted 39 points in the second half to protect a three-point halftime lead.
The win moves the Lady Flames to 11-4 overall and 6-3 in the GSC. The Lady Bulldogs fall to 9-7 and are 4-6 in league play.