Converse Defeats Limestone by 15 Points
Spartanburg, SC — The Converse College basketball team picked its first win of the season by defeating Limestone College 77-62. With the win, Converse improves to 1-6 while the Saints fall to 1-4. Lauren Mueller led the way for the All-Stars with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks.
The first few minutes of the game saw both schools trading points. With the score knotted at 9, Limestone went on an 8-0 run to take the lead at 17-9. The Saints did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the half. They built the lead to 12 points with 11 minutes to play. However, the All-Stars would battle back. Brandi Crisitiello scored 2 of her 13 points with 6:45 remaining in the half. Crisitiello then stole the ball and dished it off to Mueller to bring the All-Stars within 3 points. The Saints would return fire with back to back 3-pointers by Lindsay Kyle. Converse and Limestone would match buckets for the remainder of the half. The Saints would take a 40-33 lead into the locker room. Limestone shot 40% in the half including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. The All-Stars shot 38% from the floor.
Both teams came out cold in the second half. Neither team would find the bottom of the basket for the first 3 minutes of the half. Limestone would finally break the ice with a Monica Adams’s basket to stretch the Saints lead to 9 points. With just over 11 minutes to play, Mueller would bring the All-Stars to within one point at 46-45. Converse’s Stephanie Whitaker tied the game at 47. Whitaker then sunk a pair of free throws to give the All-Stars a two point lead. The Saints would tie the game at 49 courtesy of a Reagan Robins jumper with 9:31 to play. A 3-pointer from Crisitiello would give Converse the lead for good with 9:09 left in the game. The All-Stars gradually built on the lead and were able to seal the victory in large part to clutch free throw shooting. Converse shot 9 of 12 from the charity line in the last two minutes of the game to claim a 77-62 victory.
The Saints’ Lindsay Kyle paced Limestone with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Tiffany Jones and Blanca Gonzalez each added 10 points. Addie Graves and Jones matched Kyle’s team high with 6 rebounds on the night. The Saints shot 29% for the game.
Converse Kathryn McClain added 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals on the evening. Adding to her 13 points, Crisitiello had 7 rebounds including 6 on the defensive side. Ashley Arff led the way defensively with 5 steals. Converse shot 40% for the game and 21 for 27 from the free throw line, including hitting 81% in the second half.
Converse returns to action Wednesday as they travel to Presbyterian for a 6:00 pm bout. The Saints will host Anderson at 5:30 pm on Thursday.