DEMOREST, Ga.—A consistent offensive presence from the opening tip spurred Piedmont to a 78-47 win over Agnes Scott in the USA South opener for the Scotties on Tuesday afternoon. Garis Grant (Charleston, S.C.) turned in a monster performance on both ends of the floor, but Piedmont's plus-25 turnover margin gave them a steady advantage throughout.
The Lions raced out to a 13-6 lead over the first five minutes of regulation, but the Scotties turned up their defensive pressure for the rest of the first quarter. The Lions held a 14-9 lead after 10 minutes of action.
However, a big second quarter for the home side in the second quarter extended the advantage out to double digits and the Lions would never look back. The Lions received an important 14 bench points in the first half, compared to none for the Scotties, which was ultimately the difference.
Piedmont's distributed attack continued to work wonders in the second half as 11 different players scored at least two points, while the Scotties relied on four starters to come up with 24 of 26 points in the half. Grant finished off an outstanding game with 19 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
Jahmeelah Nash-Fuller (New York, N.Y.) had her best game of the season with 12 points in 31 minutes.
Bridgett Kelly led the Lions with 13 points, while Brittany Walker and Jalen Davis both scored 10 off the bench.
The Scotties actually shot better from the field at 46.2 percent, but 37 turnovers did them in to give the Lions 30 extra offensive opportunities. Piedmont turned the ball over 12 times.
Agnes (1-8) held a 40-31 advantage on the boards, the seventh time they have accomplished that feat this season.
The Scotties will look to end their skid this weekend with a trip to Berea.