Box Score The No. 12 Maryville College Scots used a 29-point effort from Mackenzie Puckett in order to take an 87-57 victory over USA South foe Averett University on Saturday.
Puckett had 29 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, as the senior forward tallied 12-of-14 from the charity stripe on the afternoon.
Puckett added six rebounds five blocks four assists and two steals to her credit for a complete game.
Maryville had a slow start to the game, though, finding themselves knotted at 13-13 after the first period with the Cougars.
"We got off to a sluggish start where we had a lot of really good looks, but we just couldn't put the ball in the hoop," Maryville head coach Darrin Travillian said. "We kept defending. It was 13-13 at the end of one quarter, and then, it was the second quarter where we made just a tremendous run. Abby Navarro came off the bench, and she gave us an unbelievable lift. If you look at the stat sheet, you'll say, 'Well, she didn't score. She had five rebounds.' Yes, but she had a ton of deflections, hustled after loose balls, and she just totally energized us. That got our press up and running, and then, all of a sudden, shots started going down."
Maryville outscored Averett 25-10 in the second quarter.
After Averett opened the quarter on a 5-0 run, the Scots rolled off an 11-1 run to take a 24-19 lead. Following a lay-in by the Cougars, Maryville would continue their onslaught with a 14-0 run that would leave the score 38-23 after the first half.
Again, for the second night in a row, the Scots' ability to force key turnovers led to the victory. The Orange and Garnet posted 24 points off 22 turnovers, while dishing out 22 assists on the afternoon.
Maryville out-rebounded their Virginian counterparts, 52-39, while posting 21 offensive rebounds in the game. The Scots tallied eight blocks in the contest.
Puckett's 29 led Maryville (17-3, 10-1 USA South), while Madison Maples had another big game with 21 points. The sophomore deposited four treys, while adding four steals, two rebounds, two assists and a block.
Allyson Friermuth tallied a double-double with career-high 14 rebounds to top her previous best of 11. The junior forward also added 11 points to complete the double-double day, as she tallied six offensive boards on the day. She also had a steal and a block to her credit.
Lauren Biliter had seven points and a career-high 11 rebounds, outdoing the seven she pulled down on Friday night against Ferrum College. Haley Talbott also had seven points, while Brittany Johnson had four points and a career high six assists to go with two steals.
Linley Dunn had four points, as Joanna Young had three points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Jordan Ballard had five assists and two steals to go with one point.
Maryville shot 38.2 percent (29-of-76) from the field, while dropping 10 treys. The Scots went 19-of-25 (76.0 percent) from the charity stripe in the 30-point victory.
Averett University (11-9, 6-6) shot 32.7 percent (16-of-49), while shooting 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. The Cougars were 21-of-31 (67.7 percent) from the free-throw line on Saturday afternoon.
Samm Chandler led the way with 17 points, while pulling down seven rebounds, three steals an assist and a block. Jessica Myers had 11 points and six rebounds, while Oneka Jones led the Cougars with eight boards.
Maryville will take a week off, before hitting the road to face LaGrange College and Huntingdon College next weekend. The Scots will face Huntingdon on Friday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. EST, 5:30 p.m. CST. On Saturday, they will travel to LaGrange for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
