Tigerville, SC – The Lady Fleet lost a hard-fought game to North Greenville University tonight 82 to 74. Mary Ann Langford (LaGrange, GA/LaGrange Academy) hit a nice jumper with four minutes remaining to tie the game at 71 a piece. Two possessions later North Greenville’s Jacquetta Golden slipped in to get an offensive rebound and put it back to give the Crusaders a two point lead with three minutes remaining. Unfortunately, the Fleet would fail to convert on their next two possessions forcing the Fleet to foul. North Greenville made 7 of 8 free throws to secure the victory.
The game was tightly contested. The first six minutes saw four lead changes and three ties before the Fleet gained a slight lead. Twice the Fleet led by as much as five points in the first half. But right before the half, North Greenville’s Erin Gray made two shots in the last minute to tie the game at 39 a piece.
The 2nd half was equally exciting as there were 7 lead changes and ties. It was not until the last three minutes that the Crusaders built their largest lead of the game to 10 on free throws.
Leading the Fleet were Audrey Timmerman (Aiken, SC/Aiken H.S.) and Elizabeth Tatum (Glennville, GA/Pinewood Christian Academy) with 18 and 16 points respectively. Elizabeth Tatum just missed a double-double finishing with a game-high 9 rebounds. The Crusaders had four players in double-digits, led by Whitney Smith’s game high 20 points.
The loss drops the Fleet to 2-4 (1-1) heading into the Christmas break. The Fleet will return to action on January 4th when the Saints of Limestone College visit Belk Arena. Tip off is set for 5:30 p.m.
