DECATUR, Ga.—Visiting Averett University outlasted Agnes Scott Women's Basketball in the first game of the inaugural Agnes Scott Tip-Off Classic, 48-42. The Scotties started off hot and held the halftime lead, but an Averett run early in the second half made all the difference as both offenses slowed over the final 20 minutes.
The Cougars' Brooke Carthon (Atlanta, Ga.) led all scorers with 19 points for the game, many coming off of offensive rebounds as the junior wrangled in seven to go with three defensive boards a five steals. Agnes Scott's Garis Grant (Charleston, S.C.) continued where she left off at the end of last season with another double-double—13 points and 12 rebounds.
A young Agnes Scott side came out firing in the first quarter, jumping out to a 17-11 lead over the Cougars after converting three-point plays on three consecutive possessions ahead of the first quarter intermission. Shay Sweat (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Annie Weimerskirch (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) hit momentum swaying threes deep in the quarter to take a 17-12 advantage into the break.
Weimerskirch extended the Scottie lead early in the second quarter when she made all three attempts at the charity stripe after getting wiped out on an attempt from deep. However, Agnes Scott went cold from the field from that point, allowing the Cougars to climb back into it by halftime by narrowing the differential to a single bucket at 27-25 before the horn.
The Cougars changed the flow of the game for good in the third quarter, taking their first lead since the first quarter when Kiara Smith (Danville, Va.) hit an open triple in the opening minute of the period. Averett would grow its lead to as many as eight in the quarter before Agnes Scott was able to battle back within a point by the end of it.
Neither team could muster much offensive rhythm over the final 10 minutes. The Cougars left the door open for the Scotties on several occasions throughout the final quarter, but the home team was unable to flip the game back in its favor at any point. Averett outscored Agnes Scott 7-4 in the fourth to clinch a low-scoring 48-42 victory.
The visitors outrebounded their opponents 53-44 for the game and 21-17 on the offensive glass. Despite their advantage, the Cougars and Scotties each finished with 12 second-chance points. Amani Ajayi (Salisbury, N.C.) and Ravyn Johnson (Lanham, Md.) both finished with double-digit rebounds at 11 and 12 respectively.
Agnes Scott held the advantage in makes from deep, but Averett's third-quarter explosion was enough to hold on against a Scottie side that struggled to find the bottom of the net over the final 20 minutes.
Kalin Smith (Kiln, Miss.) was the second-highest point scorer for Agnes with eight points in 24 minutes of action.
The Scotties will look to rebound on Sunday in the tournament finale against Sewanee, who fell to Piedmont in a closer 68-64 game in the Saturday nightcap.
Of Note
- Grant rejected the 100th and 101st shots of her career to take the all-time lead in Agnes Scott program history.