MARYVILLE – Hot-shooting Berea displayed its first-place credentials here Saturday in an 85-59 victory over Maryville. The Scots led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter, but a devastating 17-0 run from the Mountaineers to start the second quarter turned the tide quickly.
Two free throws from
Courtney Carruthers ended the drought, but the damage was already done. Maryville trailed 33-19 with 3:15 left in the half and would be unable to close the gap any further for the remainder of the game.
The third and fourth quarters went the same for both teams. Maryville scored 17 in both quarters while Berea recorded 22 in each of the final 10 minutes.
Berea shot 59.6 percent (31-for-52) from the field, including 50 percent (12-for-24) from beyond the 3-point arc. They were led by Jayden Merriweather (21 points, 6-for-8 3PT) and Madison Howell (12 points, 4-for-5 3PT). Lynkaylah James recorded a double-double for the Mountaineers, scoring 11 points and picking up 14 boards.
Carruthers scored a team-high 24 points in the contest. She has now scored 20 or more points four times this season. She was followed by
Madison Williams (12) and
Hailey Cronk (11) as the Maryville scoring leaders in this contest. Carruthers ranks second in the CCS in scoring, averaging 17.8.
Olivia Cathers led all Maryville rebounders with five boards while picking up eight points and recording two steals and a block on defense.
After playing their first 11 games away from the Cooper Athletic Center, the Scots finished up a six-game home stand Saturday. The Scots are 2-4 in Maryville since their home opener on Jan. 6.
MC is back on the road next week facing off against Agnes Scott in Decatur, Georgia, on Tuesday. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
