Greenville, SC—A battle of NCCAA heavyweights did not disappoint. Lady Eagles guard Lauren Battle scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the 2nd half to ignite a 73-72 come from behind victory on the road against the Bob Jones University Lady Bruins.

In the 1st quarter, the Lady Eagles would jump out to an early 10-6 lead. Guards Jessica Boyd and Joy Smith would get the Lady Eagles going with two early three pointers. Emma Hardy chipped in 4 points of her own in the early going. During the first five minutes of the game, the Lady Eagles would shoot 5-7 from the field and 2-2 from behind the three-point arch. The Lady Bruins would not go away quietly early on. Led by Sarah Thomsen, the Lady Bruins would regain the lead and cruise to a 26-17 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

The 2nd quarter saw the Lady Bruins stretch the lead to as many as 12 point in the early going, but the Lady Eagles were able to regain their composure. Lauren Battle and Joy Smith helped the Lady Eagles narrow the deficit back to 5 points with under a minute remaining in the 2nd quarter. Lady Bruins guard Madison Shupe would go on to hit a long three-pointer from the corner to stretch the Lady Bruins lead back to 8 points at the half. In the first half, the Lady Eagles shot 30% from the floor and 34% from behind the three-point arch. Joy Smith led the Lady Eagles with 8 points in the 1st half while Lauren Battle and Emma Hardy added 6 and 5 points respectively.

At the half, Head Coach Jared Sellars told his team to keep trusting what they were doing. He said, "We played hard in the 1st half, but we weren't able to go into the half with the lead. We told the girls to trust the game-plan and see where it would take us."

The 3rd quarter would be when things began to turn around for the Lady Eagles. An early 7-0 run by the Lady Eagles cut the Lady Bruins deficit to just 1. Two straight three pointers and a free throw by Lady Bruins forward Kylee Leffew allowed the Lady Bruins to build their lead back up to 9 points. The Lady Bruins would again stretch the lead to as many as 11 points, but the Lady Eagles would battle back late in the quarter. Joy Smith and Lauren Battle would again help the Lady Eagles cut the deficit to just 7 points at the end of the 3rd quarter. Heading into the 4th quarter, the Lady Eagles still trailed 55-48.

In the 4th quarter, the Lady Eagles hoped to carry over the momentum that had built at the end of the 3rd quarter. Senior Lauren Battle would step up to lead the Lady Eagles in the 4th quarter. An 11-point Lady Bruins lead with 8 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter looked insurmountable, but the Lady Eagles had other plans. With 8:20 left on the clock, Lauren Battle would hit a three to cut the deficit to 8. A steal seconds later and an easy layup at the other end, again by Lauren Battle, helped the Lady Eagles cut the deficit to just 5 with 8 minutes remaining. Lauren Battle was not done yet. Less than a minute later a 2nd consecutive three pointer would cut the Lady Bruins deficit to just two points.

The Lady Bruins maintained the lead throughout the next 6 minutes, but the Lady Eagles were able to stay within striking distance. With 3 minutes remaining, Jessica Boyd and Marlee Moore added clutch layups to tie the game at 68. The Lady Eagles would regain the lead with just 48 seconds left the clock on an Emma Hardy layup. A free throw by Lady Bruins guard Sha'ron Brunson would knot the score at 72 with 33 seconds left in the ballgame. A blocking foul by a Lady Bruins defender would send Marlee Moore to the line with a chance to win it for the Lady Eagles. After missing the first free throw attempt, Marlee Moore calmly buried the 2nd to give the Lady Eagles a hard fought victory.

In the ballgame, four Lady Eagles scorers ended in double digits (Battle-19, Smith-13, Moore-10, and Boyd-10). Despite being outrebounded 33-32 in the ballgame, the Lady Eagles were able to record just 11 turnovers compared to 22 by the Lady Bruins. 39% shooting from the field and 40% shooting from behind the three-point line helped the Lady Eagles secure victory.

Asked after the game about the Lady Eagles performance, Jared Sellars said, "I am proud of our girls. We came in here tired after a tough road-trip, but they were able to keep their composure for 40 minutes. We battled foul trouble throughout the game, but the girls kept battling. This was a game of heavyweights and both teams showed up. Our girls gutted out a victory that they should be very proud of."

With the win the Lady Eagles move to 9-9 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. Next up for the Lady Eagles will be a date against Toccoa Falls College tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm CT in Toccoa Falls, GA.