Box Score In a battle of unbeaten USA South west division foes, Piedmont College rallied in the third quarter to defeat Maryville College 68-60 on Saturday evening in Maryville's Boydson Baird Gymnasium.
The Scots jumped out to a 16-14 advantage in the first period behind seven points from Courtney Carruthers on 3-of-4 shooting. MC shot 54-percent from the floor but the Lions kept pace hitting 5-of-10 shots including five points from Laken Siles off the bench.
Maryville took a three-point lead into the half (29-26) despite sinking only 2-of-11 second-quarter baskets. Carruthers and Klaire Varney deposited a combined eight of MC's 13-point total.
Piedmont went on a torrid hot pace connecting on 10-of-12 shots (83-percent) with Colby Reed and Karla Cantrell combined for 14 points off the bench. Meanwhile, Maryville tried to keep pace hitting 6-of-11 shots. The Lions outscored the Scots by ten in the third quarter going into the final stanza.
In the final period, Piedmont's Nakiyah Washington and Hope Franking combined for 16 of the Lions 18 points while going 5-for-7 from the floor. Maryville answered with Klaire Varney's seven points while the squad hit only 38-percent from the floor.
Piedmont (13-3, 11-0) was paced by Hope Franklin's 16 points while Nakiyah Washington and Colby Reed added 13 and 11 respectively. Franklin capped a double-double effort with a game-high 12 rebounds.
Maryville (10-1, 10-1) was led by Klaire Varney's 16 points while Courtney Carruthers added 15. Elsa Eckenrod tossed in eight points and five assists while Kelley Wandell led MC with seven rebounds while sinking eight points.
These two outstanding squads will battle once again on Sunday to determine the seeding for the upcoming USA South tournament beginning next week. Tip-off in MC's Cooper Athletic Center is slated for 3:00 p.m.
