January 24, 2008
Contact: Heather Sulkowski
Limestone College Sports Information
Phone: 864-488-8297
hsulkowski@limestone.edu

LADY SAINTS HANDLE LEES-MCRAE, 73-54

GAFFNEY, S.C. – Junior Addie Graves (Columbia, S.C.) led the Saints in a 73-54 win over Lees-McRae College in the Timken Gym on Thursday night.  Graves was a force to be reckoned with in the post, leading all scorers with a career high 25 points.  Graves shot 67% (10-15) from the floor and 71% (5-7) from the free-throw line.  Graves also led the Saints on the boards with 9.  The Saints are now 10-9 overall, 5-4 in the league while the Bobcats of Lees-McRae drop to 4-11 on the season, 3-6 in  conference play.

Graves counter-part in the post also had an impressive night, Monica Adams (Kings Mountain, N.C) added 17 points and 6 rebounds in the win for the Saints.  The third Saint to score in double-digits was Shelly Robinson (Belmont, NC) with 10 points shooting 38% (3-8) beyond the arc.  Ariel Lyons (Brandon, Fla.) dished out 10 assists.

For the Bobcats, Renee Roberson (Salisbury, N.C.) and Chahkia Harrison (Baltimore, Md.) both led their team with 17 points each.  Roberson rounded out an impressive showing with 9 rebounds and 5 steals, shooting 46% (6-13) from the field.

The Saints jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first seven minutes of the game.  The Bobcats cut the lead with a 10-1 run, sparked by two Harrison 3-pointers.  With Limestone up 14-12 and eight minutes left in the half, the Saints pushed the lead to 30-12 holding the Bobcats scoreless for seven minutes.  Two lay-ups by Kayla Blevins (Roan Mountain, TN) and Jessica Lunsford (Elk Park, N.C.) ended the Bobcats’ scoring drought as the score was 30-16 with just under a minute left to play.  Limestone was not done yet and would answer with a made free-throw by Robinson and a lay-up by Adams to put Limestone up 33-16 heading into the locker room.

In the first six minutes of the half, the swarming Saint defense held Lees-McRae to just 5 points, and scored 13 of their own to secure their largest lead of the game, up 46-21.  The Bobcats would get as close as 13 at 64-51 with just three  minutes remaining, but Graves took over scoring 9 of her 15 second half points to carry the Saints to victory, 73-54. 

The Saints shot 47% (24-51) from the floor and 41% (7-17) from beyond the arc.  The Bobcats shot 35% (18-51) from the field and 35% (8-23) from the 3-point line.

The Saints will travel to Belmont, N.C., on Saturday to take on the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey College at 2:00 p.m.  The Bobcats will also be on the road this weekend, traveling to Hartsville, S.C., on Saturday to take on Coker College at 2:00 p.m.

-LIMESTONE-