Bison Women’s Basketball Mounts Late Comeback to Defeat Grove City
Jan. 20 – BETHANY, W. Va. - The Bethany College women's basketball team used a late second-half surge to defeat Grove City, 64-55, in Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night. The Bison outscored the Wolverines 46-22 in the second half, erasing a 15-point halftime deficit in the process.
The Bison (7-9, 5-4 PAC) got off to a slow start, falling behind 8-2 after the opening five minutes of the contest.
A late basket from Hayley Holenka (Shadyside, Ohio/Shadyside) cut the Wolverine lead to four (14-10) with a minute left in the first quarter. The Bison trailed 16-10 at the break.
Grove City (7-9, 5-4 PAC) extended their lead throughout the second quarter, outscoring the Bison 17-8 in the period. The Wolverines finished 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the floor in opening half.
A basket at the buzzer from Kelsea Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) made it 33-18 at halftime, giving Bethany a small boost heading into the locker room. Daugherty led all scorers with 12 points in the half.
The Bison came out with a resolved purpose in the second half. The Bison used a big third quarter to fight their way back into the game, outscoring Grove City 19-10.
Bethany started off the third quarter with back-to-back baskets from Daugherty and Mikyla Tipton (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville) to narrow the deficit (33-22).
The two teams exchanged baskets over the next couple minutes before Daugherty finished a layup on a nice feed from Maclaine Murad (Bridgeport, Ohio/Bridgeport) and Tipton added a pair from the free throw line to cut the Wolverine advantage to single digits (41-35).
A basket late in the quarter from Grove City's Katherine Erbelding increased the Wolverines' lead back to six, 43-37, heading into the final frame.
Bethany slowly chipped away for the opening minutes of the fourth quarter until freshman Taylor Large (Hopwood, Pa./Laurel Highlands) knocked down a short jumper to give Bethany the 48-47 advantage.
The Bison then went on a 10-4 run, taking a seven-point lead with 47 seconds left. Freshman Ashley Duthie (Madison, Ohio/Madison) was clutch for Bethany, scoring five unanswered points during the run.
The Green & White closed the game out at the free-throw line, converting 6-of-8 (75%) from the charity stripe down the stretch.
Daugherty led the Bison in scoring with a season-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds. Tipton had a solid all-around performance with 15 points, six rebounds, and seven assists.
Holenka added 12 points and five boards while Duthie scored in double-figures for the third game in a row, finishing with 10 points.
Tipton and Daugherty led the defense with four steals, each. Bethany converted Grove City turnovers into points throughout the contest, outscoring their opponent 21-10 in that category.
The Bison women's hoops team will return to action on Saturday, January 23 as they welcome Saint Vincent to Hummel Field House at 2:00 p.m.
