BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Birmingham Southern protected its home court in the opener of the Richard Dardenne Memorial Classic with a 72-35 victory over visiting Agnes Scott. The Scotties were led by Shay Sweat (Lawrenceville, Ga.) with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Agnes Scott saw its record dip to 0-3 this season while the Panthers improved to 2-1.
The Scotties knew it would be tough sledding against the BSC squad returning its nucleus from a season ago. Agnes Scott entered the game down two regular starters, forcing its starting five to play a majority of the 40 minutes on Friday night.
The Scotties did all they could to keep things close against the depth of the Panthers, but Birmingham Southern scored in the double-digits in all four quarters while limiting Agnes to only one such offensive period. The Panthers led 38-16 at the break and never looked back en route to the comfortable victory.
Derienne Black led all players with 19 points in 29 minutes of action, while also taking four Agnes Scott passes away. Leah Middleton and Emilee Olsen contributed 12 and 10 points respectively in starter's minutes.
Sweat was the standout for the Scotties, leading the team in rebounding as well with eight caroms.
Birmingham Southern's bench outscored the Scottie bench 23-2 for the game.
The Scotties are back in action on Saturday afternoon against a Millsaps team that made the national tournament last winter.