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The big six: Lady Knights upset Reinhardt with only six players available

brandon hodge, the laurinburg exchange, n.c.
·4 min read

Jan. 28—LAURINBURG — Coming into Saturday, The St. Andrews Lady Knights (3-14, 3-14 Appalachian Athletic Conference) hadn't won a game since Dec. 3, 2022, when they defeated Brenau 76-74 in Gainesville, Ga. And, after Lady Knights head coach Shareka Maner announced on Jan. 14 that just eight players would be rostered for the remainder of the season, a nearly perfect performance would be needed to win another game. But, with less than eight healthy bodies able to go, it seemed impossible.

Only six players were available for the St. Andrews Lady Knights (3-14, 3-14 Appalachian Athletic Conference) against the Reinhardt Eagles (16-7, 15-4 AAC), but that was all they needed to pull off a 62-50 upset and snap an eight-game losing streak.

After falling to the Eagles 76-43 on Nov. 17, 2022 in Waleska, Ga, Maner discussed what the win means for her and her team.

"I think (this is) huge for us, especially in terms of morale," Maner said. "Now we see with only six players what we can do. So, I think this is a big confidence boost for us going forward. These young ladies play their hearts out every night, so to turn around and beat the number two team in our conference, that's huge."

When asked how she was able to keep her players fresh throughout the game, Maner said it took a specific game plan.

"Timeouts and strategy," Maner said. "Pull them over for a quick 30 second timeout, let them catch their breath, get a quick drink, and then have a good rotation coming in and off the bench."

The Lady Knights scored the first six points of the game on layups from Madison Larrimore, AJ Price, and Ashley Starks. Reinhardt found their offensive rhythm, however, and took an 11-10 lead off an Ashley Woodroffe layup at the 4:11 mark. The Lady Knights were able to outscore the Eagles 7-3, including five points from Starks during the stretch, to go up 17-13 at the end of the period.

A Hailey Cozier jumpshot 12 seconds into the second quarter gave the Lady Knights a 19-13 lead, their largest of the game at the time, before the Eagles scored five straight points to make it a one-point game. Reinhardt retook the lead at 22-21 off a Julia Craft layup but the Lady Knights managed to bring their lead back up to 27-22 with 2:13 left in the half. The Eagles managed to tighten their deficit, however, the Lady Knights still led 30-27 at the halftime break.

After a Woodroffe jumper to begin the third quarter, the Lady Knights would crack open a 10-0 run, which included 3-pointers by Starks and Tougher, to go up 40-29 at the 6:26 mark. The Eagles turned things around with a 9-0 stretch to make it 40-38 with a 1:21 left in the third quarter. Another Tougher 3-ball and a layup by Reinhardt's Maria Sanchez Ponce ended the frame with the Lady Knights leading 43-40.

A layup by Tarrah Gibson with 9:25 left put the Eagles down only 45-44. The Lady Knights outscored the Eagles 15-4 over the next six minutes of play though; a run that included two treys by Starks and one from Tougher, but also saw Larrimore foul out. With 2:53 to go, the Lady Knights led 60-50 and neither team scored until eight seconds remained in the game, when Starks knocked down a pair of free throws.

Starks led the way for the Lady Knights with 22 points and was 4-for-7 from range. Salliey finished with 12 points and Price had 11 points.

Woodroffe scored a team-high 17 points for the Eagles, while Gibson followed behind with 14 points.

At halftime, the Lady Knights had only one 3-pointer and five assists. The offense came to fruition more in the second half, but it was the all-around defensive play that helped the Lady Knights pull out the win, as they held the Eagles to 18-of-61 from the field and 0-of-13 from downtown.

Maner said after the Lady Knights' game against Kentucky Christian on Jan. 21 that it was the "best defense we've played all season."

When asked if Saturday's performance topped that one, she didn't hesitate to answer.

"Oh, yes sir," Maner said. "And, we did it in great fashion because we held them under 56 points. Defensively, that's what we're gonna hang it on going forward; I'm gonna let them know you guys played your hearts out on that defensive side of the ball."

The Lady Knights return to action on Jan. 31 at 5:30 p.m. against Bluefield College in Bluefield, Va.