No. 3 seed Lyon claws past No. 6 seed Pikeville
Lyon Sports
Tyler Scott, Assistant Director of Sports Information
BILLINGS, Mont. – In the first round of the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Tournament, the third-seeded Lyon College women’s basketball team used a big fourth quarter to claw past No. 6 seed Pikeville University (Ky.) Thursday morning at the Rimrock Arena. The Scots went on a 16-1 run at one point in the final period, and survived a late surge from the Bears to advance to the second round.
The Scots used a balanced effort from their guards as Liz Henderson led the team with 14 points and seven assists. Sarah Elkins finished with 12 points, while Madison Riley and Elliot Taylor chipped in 10 apiece.
Pikeville was led by Kandice Porter and Devin Conley’s 13 points.
Lyon improves to 28-5 on the season and continues their run in the National Tournament. Pikeville’s season comes to an end, as they finish with a 21-11 record.
BY THE NUMBERS
16.7 – Lyon has been strong on the defensive end all year, and today they were able to hold Pikeville to just 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Bears were limited to just 3-of-18 from long range, and shot 38.2 percent on 26-of-68 from the floor. Lyon went 9-of-23 from long range for 39.1 percent, led by four from Henderson.
19 – The Scots totaled 19 assists in the game led by seven from Henderson. Kiara Moore finished with four, while Riley had three. Pikeville was limited to just 11.
40.0 – Lyon finished shooting 26-of-65 for 40.0 percent in the game. The Scots picked up the pace in the second half by shooting 14-of-32 for 43.7 percent.
42 – Both teams rebounded the ball well, but the Scots grabbed the advantage with 42 in the game. Elkins had a team high eight rebounds, while Riley and Moore had five apiece. Taylor and Hailey Hastings each had four.
6 – Lyon blocked six total shots in the game, with Moore leading the team with three. Henderson, Riley and Hastings each had one. Pikeville entered the game ranked fourth in the nation with 146 total blocks, but had just three in the game.
GAME FLOW
The first quarter was close as neither team could quite break away for a big lead. Henderson broke a 10-10 tie for the Scots after she hit a three-pointer, followed by a basket from the Bears as the Scots would take a 13-12 lead after the first quarter. The second quarter proved to be just as close, as the Scots had a 26-21 lead at the 3:40 mark. Pikeville then went on a 9-3 run to close out the period and take a 30-29 lead.
Pikeville would try to build a big lead in the third quarter, but the Scots were able to keep pace with the stingy Bears’ defense. With the game tied at 36, Hastings, Ali Tucker and Moore scored seven straight points for Lyon to give the team a little bit of breathing room at 43-36 with 3:10 left in the quarter. Lyon would lead 45-42 after three quarters of play.
Lyon would go on a huge run in the fourth quarter as they shot 8-for-13 in the period. With an early quarter lead of 45-44, the Scots built their lead to double-digits as a plethora of Scots in Kelsey Smith, Riley, Elkins, Taylor and Henderson helped Lyon take a 61-45 lead. Pikeville would make one last run to try and keep it close, but the Scots held them back for the 12-point win.
WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE SCOTS
Lyon will play the winner of No. 2 seed Westmont College (Calif.) and No. 7 seed Louisiana State University-Shreveport, Friday at 4:30 p.m.