Box Score The No. 17 Maryville College Scots will host the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament inside Boydson Baird Gymnasium as the No. 1 seed after knocking off conference rival Piedmont College, 78-65, on Wednesday night.
Maryville will take the top seed after posting a 14-1 record within the USA South, with one game left to play at Huntingdon College on Saturday afternoon.
The Scots jumped out to an early lead, taking a 43-28 advantage to the locker room at the half. Maryville was lights out from beyond the arc, knocking down 100 percent in the first stanza – a perfect 7-of-7. Lauren Trent led the way, bucketing 3-of-3 for nine points, while Jordan Ballard posted 2-of-2 for 12 points. Mackenzie Puckett was also 2-of-2, taking eight points to the break.
The Lions managed only a 12.5 percent first half from the 3-point line, shooting 1-of-8. The Scots outpaced Piedmont, shooting 50 percent (18-of-36) from the floor, while the Lions could only manage a 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) first stanza.
Piedmont would hang around during the second half, however, pulling to as close as seven before a surge by the Scots would pull away to the final margin.
Puckett came out hot during the second half, blistering the nets for an additional 16 points for a game-high 24 points. The Franklin, Tenn. junior guard now totals 998 career points – only two points away from the 1,000-point club. The reigning USA South Player of the Year also tallied her 100th career block on the night against Piedmont, swatting away five shots. In the past two games, she's tallied a total of 15 blocked shots to bring her career total to 103, while blocking 36 shots this season.
The junior guard shot 10-of-16 on the night, while going 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. She also had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals to her credit.
Ballard followed Puckett's performance with 16 points of her own to go with five steals, four assists, four rebounds and two blocks. Senior Alex Bond tossed in 11 points to go with seven assists and four rebounds.
Lauren Trent had nine points, while Rachel Hawn tallied six points and seven rebounds. Joanna Young and Mindy Brackins each had four points, while Linley Dunn and Kelsey Brown added two apiece.
Piedmont was led by Brianna Barrett's 20-point night, while she added four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Le'Shaunda Jones had 17 points, seven rebounds, six steals and three assists, while Chandler Alverson had 12 points.
Maryville posted a 51.7 percent outing, while knocking down 80 percent from long range – 8-of-10. They also shot a perfect 100 percent (10-of-10) from the charity stripe. The Scots move to 22-2 on the year.
Piedmont managed a 39.1 percent night (25-of-64), while shooting 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) from beyond the 3-point line. They fall to 18-6 overall and 11-5 in USA South play.
Maryville will wrap up its regular season on Saturday, Feb. 21 in Huntingdon, Ala. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. They will play the first round of the USA South tournament at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26.
