MT. BERRY, Ga.—A furious offensive effort in the third quarter paced Berry (4-6) to edge Agnes Scott 54-46 on Tuesday afternoon at The Cage. The Scotties led by five points at halftime, but Berry came out firing in the third period to completely change the game's momentum.
The Scotties (0-10) are now off for 10 days during the holiday break before returning back to Woodruff Gymnasium with North Park (Ill.) coming to town on December 28.
Agnes Scott looked refreshed off the tip after a week off due to finals. Shay Sweat (Lawrenceville, Ga.) made an in-rhythm three in the first 15 seconds of the game, helping the Scotties to an 11-4 start to the contest.
Berry struggled from the floor in the first half, making just four of 31 attempts. However, their propensity for getting to the free-throw line helped keep the home side from starring a single-digit halftime score in the face. The Vikings made all nine of their attempts from the stripe, equaling their points from the floor in the first half.
Agnes surrendered a 9-0 run over the final 4:14 of the first quarter, giving Berry a 13-11 advantage. However, the Scotties came right back to start the second quarter with a mix of patient-enough offense and solid interior defense. Agnes Scott held Berry to 2-16 shooting in the period and outscored them 12-5 to take a 23-18 lead by intermission.
Emma Olson (Austin, Texas) and Briana Holland (Austell, Ga.) paced the Scotties in the first half with six points apiece.
The Scotties' third-quarter woes crept their way back at the start of the third as the Vikings outscored the visitors 16-4 over the first five minutes of the quarter after totaling only 18 points in the entirety of the first half. Berry extended the lead to 40-32 by the end of the period after shooting 9-of-16 from the floor.
The fourth quarter evened out as the Scotties got with as few as five points before the Vikings ran out the clock to preserve the win.
Garis Grant (Charleston, S.C.) led all scorers with 13 points, all of which came in the second half. The junior forward also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots. Emma Olson (Austin, Texas) also had a solid offensive night with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting while wrapping up eight boards. Kamiyla Lane (Atlanta, Ga.) led the Scotties with nine caroms collected.
The Scotties fell to the Vikings despite making three more shots from the floor, but Berry's 19-26 night from the charity stripe proved vital down the stretch. Agnes shot 7-16 at the free-throw line.
Mary Walters (Buford Ga.) was the top scorer for the Vikings with 12 points, while Eveline Parsons (Metarie, La.) had eight off the bench thanks to five makes at the line.
Agnes led in 43-36 in rebounding for the contest.