Central, S.C. – The Warriors won their fifth game of the season against Converse College on Tuesday evening in Conference Carolinas action in a final score of 74-70.

Five Warriors posted double digits in the victory on Tuesday night.  Aneysa Williams led the Warriors with 17 points.  She was followed by Tomi Sanchez (12), Tatiyana Mahone (11), Tatiana Manuel (11) and Taylor Vinson (10).  Southern Wesleyan posted a 43.3% field goal percentage and went 15-22 at the free throw line.  Mahone led the team in assists with three of the 13 assists in the game.  Mahone was followed by Sanchez, Manuel and Brooke Strickland each with two apiece.

Southern Wesleyan posted 36 rebounds in the win.  Tatiana Manuel led the team in rebounds with 10.  She was followed by Tatiyana Mahone with seven.  Manuel led the team in blocks with nine.  Three Warriors followed her with a block.  Kasey Howard posted four steals in the win.  She was followed by Mahone and Manuel with three apiece.

Game Vitals

Final: Southern Wesleyan 74, Converse 70

Records: Southern Wesleyan (5-16 / CC 3-14), Converse (4-17 / CC 3-14)

Coach Davis Says…

"It is great to see that type of joy in our locker room right now.  This team has had its best two practices of the year coming into tonight.  That speaks a lot to the character of these young ladies.  No matter what we go through, it is our desire to find the joy in it.  We had multiple players tonight step-up and we were well-balanced.  Converse played extremely hard and played a great fourth quarter, so a lot of credit to Coach Walsh and his team."

How It Happened

Converse struck first in the contest on Tuesday night with a layup by Keocia Walker, however, the Warriors tied it up on a layup by Taylor Vinson and then pulled ahead on a jump shot by Aneysa Williams.  Southern Wesleyan pulled ahead to 10-6 on a jump shot by Tatiyana Mahone.  The Valkyries tied the game at 10 on a layup by Paige Johnson.  The Warriors regained the lead on a shot by Mahone to make the game 12-10 and then lengthened it to 14-10 on a jump shot by Cayse Branyon. 

Cayse Branyon made a three point jump shot to kick-off the second quarter of play to bring the score to 17-14 Warriors lead.  Taylor Vinson lengthened their lead to 20-14 on a layup, but the Valkyries countered with a layup by Abigail Lewis to make the score 20-16.  Layups by Tomi Sanchez and Tatiyana Mahone gave the Warriors a 24-16 point lead.  Bri James made a three point jump shot to bring the game to 32-29 Warriors lead at the half.

Southern Wesleyan started the third quarter off on a layup by Tatiana Manuel to give the Warriors a 34-29 lead over the Valkyries.  Aneysa Williams made a three point jump shot to give the Warriors a 7-point lead, and then Williams made a layup to bring the score 46-36.  Gabrielle Bates makes a layup to give the Warriors a 12-point lead and bringing the score to 50-38.  Back-to-back sets of freebies by Tatiana Manuel and Aneysa Williams gave the Warriors a 54-40 point lead over the Valkyries.

The Converse College Valkyries would not go down quietly, scoring nine points in the first two minutes of play in the fourth quarter before Tatiyana Mahone made a jump shot for Southern Wesleyan bringing the score to 60-55.  Tomi Sanchez made a 3-point jump shot to give the Warriors an 8-point lead.  Despite layups by Paige Johnson and Keocia Walker for the Valkyries, Tatiana Manuel made free throws to give the Warriors a 74-70 victory over Converse.

What's Next

The Warriors will next play on Saturday, February 11 against the Emmanuel College Lions at 2 p.m.  They will then travel for the next three games.