Wilson, NC – The Flying Fleet stunned #1 seed Barton College on the road in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Postseason Tournament 87 to 83. The Fleet snapped an impressive 18-game win streak by the Lady Bulldogs.
Erskine’s Elizabeth Tatum sparked the Fleet to a quick 12 to 2 lead, scoring ten of her sixteen points, in the first three minutes of the game. By the 13:19 mark, the Fleet had extended their lead to fifteen points. The Lady Bulldogs cut the lead down to just four points with three minutes remaining but the Fleet rallied to end the first half leading by ten at 47 to 37.
Janae Jackson got the Lady Bulldogs going in the second half, scoring eight of fifteen points in the first five minutes, to pull Barton to within six points at 58 to 52. The Fleet pushed their lead back to double-digits and led by twelve with 3:18 left. The Lady Bulldogs had a chance to tie late but missed the front end of a 1 and 1 with 12 seconds remaining. Audrey Timmerman calmly sunk two free throws with 3 seconds on the clock sealing the four point upset victory of the Conference Champions Barton College.
Senior Audrey Timmerman led the Fleet with a game-high 27 points, connecting on 6 of 12 three-point shots. Fellow guard Porsha Morgan contributed 21 points while forward Elizabeth Tatum had 16 points and senior Mary Ann Langford 10 points. The Lady Bulldogs were led by Jamila Johnson’s 19 points and Esty Flores chipped in 18 points. Destiny Hamlin and Janae Jackson both earned a “double-double” with 10 points and 11 rebounds and 15 points and 11 rebounds respectively.
The Fleet shot an impressive 53.6% from the floor, including 9 of 18 from behind the arc. The Fleet limited the Conference Carolinas Champions to just 37% shooting, allowing only 2 of 9 from long-range. The Fleet lost the rebounding battle 40 to 52,surrendering 22 second chance points to Barton. The Fleet also turned the ball over 26 times to Barton’s 11.
Barton College finished the regular season with only one loss in conference play which was to Queens University back on January 7th.
The Fleet advance now advance to the semi-finals against #4 seed Queens University on Thursday. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m.
