[Women's Basketball] Lady Knights hold off Union 71-66 for 2nd straight win

LAURINBURG, NC - The St. Andrews University women's basketball team won their 2nd straight game Saturday ousting Union College (Ky.) 71-66 at home.

SAU got out to a strong first half lead scoring 20 points in the opening quarter to lead 20-12 and then 18 more in the second to outscore the Bulldogs 18-11 to lead at the break 38-23 shooting 42 percent and holding Union to 32 percent shooting.

Union then came out in the third quarter and found their offense scoring 26 points with the majority on three-pointers (five of 14) and transition layups while SAU still managed to put up 20 points as the Lady Knights led 58-49. Then in the fourth, after Union trimmed SAU's lead down to three at 63-60, the Knights then went on a 5-0 run to take control at 68-60 and hold on for the win.

The Lady Knights shot 52 percent in the second half while Union shot 42 percent and 38 percent overall.

SAU forced 23 Union turnovers while gaining 9 steals and out-rebounding the Bulldogs 43-37 while putting two women in double-figure scoring and shooting 46 percent.

Freshman forward Morgan Perkins (FR/Florence, SC) led the Knights by tying her season high with 27 points along with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, two blocks, and 3 steals. It was Perkins' 11th double-digit scoring game of the season while it was her 7th in her last 8 games. She also now has a team-best 24 blocks to rank 1st in the AAC and 38th nationally. Perkins also ranks first in the AAC in FG % at 52 percent.

Junior guard Kayla Clifton (JR/Hampton, VA) then added 14 points on 5 of 10 shooting and a three-pointer along with 7 rebounds and an assist while fellow freshman forward Aquera Johnson (FR/Longs, SC) finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Johnson has now totaled 10 assists over her last 3 games and 55 rebounds over her past five (11.0/g). She also ranks 6th in the AAC in steals with 43 (2.3/g).

Sophomore guard Samantha Ring (SO/Carthage, NC) only made two three-pointers on the afternoon, but they both came at very clutch times changing the momentum for the Knights. Ring finished with 9 points, a season-high 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while senior forward Ellen Dukes (SR/Augusta, GA) also added 6 point and 3 rebounds.

Sophomore point guard Courtney Rowe (SO/Sand Rock, AL) finished with a team-high of 4 assists, along with 3 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal while fellow guard, freshman Nijha Shannon (FR/Suffolk, VA), added 4 points with 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

SAU improves to 7-12 overall and 5-11 in the AAC with their 2nd straight win while Union falls to 8-12 overall and 5-10 in the conference.

The Lady Knights are next in action on Tuesday when they head to Gainesville (Ga.) to face Brenau University (12-6) for a 5:30 PM tip.