Cougar News

Batesville, AR - Fifth-place Lyon College (15-8, 5-5 TSAC) defeated eighth-place Mid-Continent University (3-18, 1-8 TSAC) by a score of 70-44 in TranSouth collegiate women's basketball action, Saturday, February 6, in Batesville, Arkansas. Lyon scored the final 10 points of the first half and led 40-23 at halftime and after an 8-0 run, led by 25 points (51-26) at the 13:18 mark of the second half and built the lead as high as 29 points (70-41) in the last seconds of the contest.

     Lyon, which received votes in the NAIA national coaches' poll the last three weeks, also beat MCU 74-59 in Mayfield, Jan. 9. MCU has never defeated Lyon in eight TSAC games since joining the conference in 2006.

     Next week, MCU plays its final non-conference game of the season at Wesley College (1-9) in Florence, Mississippi, Monday, Feb. 8, at 5:30 p.m., and travels to Pulaski, Tennessee for a TranSouth conference game at fourth-place Martin Methodist College (13-9, 4-4 TSAC), Thursday, Feb. 11, at 2:00 p.m. (please note the game time change).

    6-3 center Kandi Knupp (Iuka, MS/Tishomingo County HS/N.E. Mississippi CC) led all scorers in the game with 20 points on 7 of 11 field goals, and added 5 rebounds, 2 assists and one blocked shot and ranks sixth in the NAIA with 58 blocks this season. Junior guard Tiffany Payton (Wadesville, IN/Mater Dei HS/Kaskaskia College, IL) totaled 8 points, one three-pointer and 2 rebounds, and junior forward Katie Perry (Anchorage, AK/Grace Christian School) contributed 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Junior reserve forward Alisha Herndon (Clarksville, TN/Montgomery Central HS) gave the Cougars 6 points and 2 rebounds.

     6-0 center Suzanne Fincham led the Pipers with 17 points and 8 rebounds, and All-TSAC forward K.K. Hodges added 13 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals. Guard Jordin Coleman added 7 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, and forward Lauren Ramsey contributed 6 points and 5 rebounds. Guard Ashley Waller added 6 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and one steal, and reserve guard Christine Smith contributed 8 points, 2 three-pointers, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.

     Mid-Continent sliced a 13-point Lyon lead to seven points, 30-23, with 5:01 left in the first half, but Lyon responded to the Cougars' challenge by scoring the last 10 points of the half and led 40-23 at intermission. Fincham led Lyon with 9 points and 6 rebounds in the first half, and Knupp led MCU with 10 first-half points. Lyon scored 12 of its first-half points after 10 MCU turnovers, and Lyon stole the ball 6 times.

     Lyon outscored MCU, 11-3, in the first 6:42 of the second half, including 8 consecutive points at the end of the run and gained a 51-26 lead. Fincham scored 8 more points during Lyon's streak. However, Mid-Continent answered back with an 8-0 run, five by Knupp, slicing the Pipers' lead to 51-34 with 7:59 left but drew no closer than 17 points. Lyon closed off the game with a 19-10 run, with Hodges scoring 5 of the points and by converting 7 of its 8 free throws down the stretch.

     Mid-Continent shot .378 from the field for the game (17-45), made 2 of 6 three-pointers and 8 of 16 free throws, and committed 20 turnovers which led to 20 Lyon points. Lyon outrebounded MCU, 42-28, and stole the ball 15 times. Lyon shot .419 from the field (26-62), made 5 of 16 three-pointers and 13 of 16 free throws and committed 15 turnovers.