MARYVILLE - In a game that saw every player for Maryville score, the highlight of the night was the stingy Scots defense. Allowing only 34 points on 27.5% shooting from the field, Coach Darrin Travillian's squad took the lead early and never let up the rest of the way, defeating Wesleyan 75-34.
Coming off the holiday break, the Scots' were hoping to knock off the rust early in their opening conference matchup of the season. Both Maryville and Wesleyan came into the matchup winless, with both teams set on righting the ship.
An all-around effort from every individual on the squad led the Scots to earn their first victory of the season. The 34 points given up by Maryville are the fewest scored by an opposing team since Feb. 6 2021, when the Scots defeated Agnes Scott 98-25 (The two teams played each other the previous day during the COVID Spring when the Scots surrendered only 18.).
Halle Kitchen and Emma Huskey scored 12 points for Maryville, with both also bringing down seven rebounds. The duo combined for seven steals and seven assists as well. Ella Tharpe was another bright spot for the team, scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting with six rebounds and three assists. Kitchen and Ella Haney led the way for the Scots in minutes played with 27 and 25 each.
The Scots outrebounded the Wolves 48-23, with an astounding 17-4 offensive board advantage that led to Maryville getting 28 points off turnovers and 26 fast break points. Bench players accounted for 45 of the team's 75 points, with Kitchen and Huskey aiding that cause. The second quarter's 26-point performance was Maryville's best scoring quarter of the year so far, and their best since Jan 20 of last year when the Scots scored 28 in the first quarter against Belhaven in the 81-66 victory.
"It feels good for the girls," Travillian said. "They're grinding every single day. We played a really good non-conference schedule where we had our moments, but never got the result we wanted. Credit to the girls. They kept coming, kept pushing, kept working and kept being coachable and it led to tonight's result."
Maryville's turnaround is quick. The Scots face off against Warren Wilson on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Cooper Athletic Center.
