Box Score The No. 15 Maryville College Scots now hold their own destiny within the USA South Athletic Conference after defeating Piedmont College, 63-53 during the Blackout in Boydson Baird Gymnasium.
A packed crowd showed up for senior day, as Mackenzie Puckett, Jordan Ballard, Joanna Young and Linley Dunn – all seniors – helped Maryville avenge an earlier loss to the Lady Lions this season.
"Four amazing seniors," Maryville Head Coach Darrin Travillian said. "What I said to them before the game was, 'This is not one of those sad senior days. We're going to have a lot of basketball left to play.' At the same time, I wanted to be very clear to them how blessed I've been to have them – how lucky I feel and how lucky this program has been to have them. When you look at what they've done over their four years, you look at the individual accomplishments. You also have to look at the collective accomplishments."
These four seniors have helped Maryville to a 92-19 overall record during their four seasons, winning 83 percent of their games. They've posted a 56-7 record within the USA South Athletic Conference, while claiming three consecutive USA South regular season titles.
Puckett, Ballard, Young and Dunn have also had a hand in hanging NCAA banners No. 19, 20 and 21 for the Maryville women's basketball program.
Currently, with 92 wins, this class sits as the fifth winningest women's basketball class in Maryville College history.
"They've just been an unbelievable gift," Travillian said of the seniors. "The best thing is, they are making a legacy. We are living it right now, but every kid that comes here from now on understands what Mackenzie Puckett does. They understand the guts of Jordan Ballard, and they know the tenacity and defense of Joanna Young. They will know the role that Linley Dunn has played over her four years here, overcoming her injuries and stuck with it."
Wednesday's win gives Maryville control of their destiny within the USA South Athletic Conference in their hopes for a fourth consecutive USA South regular season title. They travel to Lookout Mountain, Ga. to face Covenant College on Saturday, Feb. 20. A win would secure the title.
The Blackout victory also marks the 20th win of the 2015-16 season for the Scots, tying the Maryville College record for the most consecutive 20-win seasons. This season marks the seventh straight, dating back to 2009-2010.
The seventh straight season ties the record set between 1988 and 1995.
Travillian also broke a record on the afternoon, as the head coach now has six straight 20-win seasons. That mark bests Wes Moore's previous record of five straight between 1988 and 1993.
Maryville (20-3, 13-1 USA South) was led by Puckett on Senior Night, while scoring 20 points to go along with five steals, four rebounds two blocks and an assist.
Allyson Freiermuth had 16 points to go with six rebounds, while Madison Maples added nine points. Ballard had six points, five assists, five rebounds, a steal and a block, while Young had four points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Lauren Biliter, Linley Dunn and Abby Navarro each had two points, while Biliter added a team-high six rebounds to match Freiermuth. Brittany Johnson and Rachel Hawn each added a point.
Maryville shot 24-of-56 (42.9 percent) from the floor, but only managed a 1-of-15 effort from behind the arc (6.7 percent). A 66.7 percent mark from the charity stripe helped Maryville to the victory, shooting 14-of-21.
Piedmont (18-6, 13-2) shot 32.7 percent from the floor (17-of-52), while knocking down eight treys on a 30.8 percent (8-of-26) effort. They shot 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
"They're such a good offensive team, and you're always fearful because they are always on the brink of hitting two or three big threes," Travillian said. "They can cause a lot of problems. Holding them to 53 points is a feat within itself. We scored 63, which is great. I would have been happy with 54, but to hold them to 53 is a real testament to our team."
The Lady Lions saw Bridgette Kelly finish the day as Piedmont's only double-digit scorer with 11 points. She shot 4-of-5 from the floor, while knocking down 2-of-3 from long range. Carly Sales added nine points, while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Piedmont's bench outscored the squad's starters, 30-23, in the contest.
