MOBILE, Ala. – Less than 24 hours after a grueling nine-point road defeat, the Martin Methodist Women's Basketball team responded with a 78-73 victory at University of Mobile (Ala.) Saturday afternoon at the Pharr Gymnasium.
In a seesaw affair that saw 14 ties and 12 lead changes, the RedHawks (13-3, 3-3 SSAC) went back-and-forth with a team that had never beaten in their five previous all-time meetings.
In the first half, the lead swung back and forth but Mobile ultimately controlled the majority of the action and built their lead to as many as seven points just over halfway through the frame. The RedHawks would battle back, however, and turned the deficit into a lead of their own as they enjoyed a 35-33 edge at the halftime break.
The second half would be just as competitive as neither side was ever to edge ahead by more than two buckets. But tied 59-59 with just over six minutes to play, the RedHawks once again found their offensive groove and were able to scratch their lead to as many as eight points before closing out with the five-point victory.
Guards Nina Mills and Janasia Williams led the offensive attack for the RedHawks, scoring 18 points each on a combined 14-of-22 shooting from the floor. The duo also finished a tidy 6-of-7 from the free throw stripe as the RedHawks shot a collective 18-of-25 from the charity stripe.
Fellow backcourt member Kelsey Nowlin added 15 points for the RedHawks, who finished the contest 29-of-63 from the floor.
In the frontcourt, Abby Clayton posted 13 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season while Kyoko Wade tracked down a game-best 12 rebounds – her fourth straight double-digit rebounding night and her fifth in the last six games.
Defensively, the RedHawks forced 17 Mobile turnovers and held their opponents to just a 4-of-15 shooting effort from beyond the arc.
The win also snapped a six-game win streak for the Lady Rams (8-6, 4-2), who had also won three straight conference contests. The Lady Rams were co-regular season division champs with the RedHawks a year ago in the SSAC, but advanced to the national tournament after winning the 2014 SSAC conference tournament.
The win also capped a strong week for the RedHawks, who knocked off No. 13 Cumberland (Tenn.) University on Tuesday and then played undefeated No. 7 Loyola (La.) University to a tight contest on the road Friday.
"I was proud of the way our girls battled back after a hard-fought loss last night," RedHawks head coach Kyle Bent said. "Mobile is one of the toughest teams we have faced this season and we needed a great effort to beat them tonight. Historically, they have dominated this series so for our girls to go on the road and pick up a win like this was huge for us. This was a solid win for us to cap a really tough week, schedule-wise."
The RedHawks return to action next Thursday, Jan. 15, when they host longtime conference rival Blue Mountain (Miss.) College. Tipoff in next Thursday's contest is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Curry Christian Life Center.
