No. 9 Lyon blows by Park
From Lyon Sports
Tyler Scott, Assistant Director of Sports Information
PARKVILLE, Mo. – The ninth-ranked Lyon College women’s basketball team forced 24 Park University turnovers in the game, on their way to a 79-43 win over the Pirates on Saturday at the Breckon Sports Center. The Scots used the second and third quarters, to hold the Pirates to under 10 points in each, to build their lead and defeat the Pirates to continue their hot streak.
Madison Riley stepped up on her way to a new career high of 18 points, while recording seven rebounds and five steals. Gracen Ratliff and Liz Henderson also recorded career highs with 12 points apiece. Henderson’s 12 points was the third time she has recorded the total this season. Henderson added seven rebounds and one steal, while Ratliff had five rebounds and one steal as well.
Lyon improves to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the American Midwest Conference on the season, while Park falls to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Scots are still in first place with the undefeated 4-0 conference record, while No. 8 Freed-Hardeman is in second place in the AMC with a 3-0 mark in conference play. No. 20 Columbia and Lindenwood University-Belleville sit in third with 3-1 AMC records.
BY THE NUMBERS
41 – Lyon grabbed a total of 41 rebounds in the game, with Henderson and Riley leading the way with seven apiece. Riley, Elliot Taylor and Kiara Moore were next with five rebounds each.
28 – Ali Tucker, Jamie Jackson and Taylor combined for 28 of the Scots’ 79 points in the game. Tucker finished with 10 points, while Taylor and Jackson each posted nine. Sarah Elkins also chipped in seven points for Lyon.
28.6 – Lyon continued its strong defense holding the Pirates to 28.6 percent from the field on 14-of-49 shooting. The Scots themselves recorded a 47.5 field goal percentage, led by a 5-for-8 output from Ratliff from the field.
GAME FLOW
Each team scored 14 points in the first quarter to keep things close, but the second quarter is where Lyon started to make their move on their way to a big lead. The Scots outscored the Pirates 18-6 in the quarter. Elkins, Moore and Riley started the scoring for the Scots in the quarter and Lyon would build their lead to 32-20 in the period to take the halftime lead.
Riley and Ratliff scored the first six points in the third quarter for Lyon as the Scots continued to put the pressure on the Pirates. Lyon led 43-23 at the 4:41 mark of the third quarter, before closing out the period on a 9-5 run to take a 54-28 lead into the final period.
With the big lead in the fourth, Henderson hit two big three-pointers to keep the Scots in front by a large margin at 60-35 Jackson then added five straight points and Lyon was able to cruise to an easy victory on the road against Park. Lyon closed the game out on a 14-5 run at that point to the win.
WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE SCOTS
The Scots have a long break before returning to action on the road against Missouri Baptist on Dec. 15. Tip-off for that event is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Lyon will then travel to St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Dec. 17 for a 1 p.m. matchup with the Eutectics.