MARYVILLE, Tenn.—Maryville College broke open a close game with a powerful second half to beat the Agnes Scott Scotties 83-47 in USA South Women's Basketball on Saturday afternoon. Garis Grant (Charleston, S.C.) had her fourth double-double in the last six games with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Scotties.
The Scots jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter, scoring a game-high 27 in the first quarter compared to only 14 for the Scotties. However, it was Agnes Scott who followed it up with the most consistent effort in the second, outscoring its opponent 14-11 to trim the deficit to 38-28 at the half.
The Scotties had their chances to dig even deeper into the home team's advantage, but Maryville put together a methodical 10-0 run to start the second half to double its lead. A slower offensive output coupled with some late foul trouble kept the Scotties from really cutting back into the lead in the late stages before the Scots padded the lead with the game already in hand.
The Scots had five different players reach double figures thanks to shooting 46 percent from the floor and an incredible 43 percent from behind the arc. Libby Gardner was the game's scoring leader with 17 points in 33 minutes of action. Klaire Varney finished with a near-unconventional double-double with 13 points and nine steals. Maryville finished with 21 steals as a team.
Aside from Grant's big night, Agnes Scott received solid efforts off the bench from Shay Sweat (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Deja White (Loganville, Ga.), who combined for 15 points.
The Scotties finish their longest road trip of the season tomorrow when they play at Berea for a 2 p.m. start.