Spartanburg, SC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Converse Valkyries in a 78-72 final score on Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors shot 39.1% from the field in their second win of the season. Savanna Nicholson led the Warriors as she went 5-11 from beyond the arc and collected 17 total points. Makayla Raines also had double digits as she had 15 points. Of the 12 assists in the game, Raines had four and Emily Gamon had two.
Southern Wesleyan pulled down 54 rebounds in the game. Both DeYana Hayes and Princess McCauley had double-digits in rebounds. Hayes had 11 and McCauley had 10. Makayla Raines had the lone block. Raines went on to have three of the 10 steals. Both Peyton Looky and Emily Gamon had two steals during the game.
Game Vitals
Final: Southern Wesleyan 78, Converse 72
Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-6 / CC 1-2) Converse (0-8 / CC 0-3)
How It Happened
Converse opened up the scoring as Mazie Helpman hit an early three pointer. Makayla Raines stole the ball away from the Valkyries and took the ball all the way down the court to lay it up into the basket. The Valkyries answered with a jump shot by Tatiana Brown, but Peyton Looky put up a layup seconds later to put the Warriors right back on top. Converse pressed on, but Emily Gamon stole the ball away from Madison Fileen and raced down the court to put up a jump shot. Lexie Ransom and Gamon hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Warriors a five point lead.
A foul early in the second quarter sent DeYana Hayes to the charity stripe. Hayes hit one of her shots to extend the Warriors lead to 19-13. Madison Fileen hit a three pointer for the Valkyries. Makayla Raines pulled down a rebound off a shot by the Valkyries and passed it down the court to Kyra Price. Price sunk the ball into the basket from beyond the arc to allow the Warriors to regain their four point lead. Three pointers by Mazie Helpman and Fileen allowed Converse to take the lead. However, the lead was short lived as Price laid the ball up into the basket to tie the game back up. After free throw shots by Peyton Looky and Savanna Nicholson, the Warriors led the game 34-33 going into the locker room.
The Valkyries kicked off the third quarter with a jump shot by An Gutierrez Ciordia to allow them to regain the lead once again. Converse pressed on as Gutierrez Ciordia and Tatiana Brown each were able to get the ball up into the basket. Savanna Nicholson stepped beyond the arc and knocked down a three pointer to put the Warriors back within two. Nicholson hit a couple more three pointers and then Princess McCauley tipped the ball into the basket off a rebound. In the final seconds of the quarter, Makayla Raines took the ball down the court and got the ball up for a layup.
Savanna Nicholson passed the ball under the basket to DeYana Hayes early in the third quarter. Hayes laid the ball up into the basket to put the Warriors back on top by five. However, a three pointer by Lisa Lorenz Conrotto put the Valkyries back within two. Converse regained the lead, but it was short lived as Hayes laid the ball up into the basket. Makayla Raines got the ball over to Nicholson who stepped behind the arc once again and hit a three pointer. The Warriors pressed on as Raines laid the ball up into the basket a couple more times. Southern Wesleyan maintained the pressure as they won the game in a 78-72 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will travel to Banner Elk, NC to take on the Lees-McRae Bobcats on December 13. They will then return to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium on December 16 as they host the North Greenville Trailblazers at noon. The Warriors will go on a road trip to Lakeland, FL on December 19-20 where they will take on Florida Southern and Eckerd College.
