BATESVILLE – The 11^th-ranked Lyon College women’s basketball team capped off its 2019-20 regular season in stunning fashion as the Scots defeated No. 15 Columbia College, 77-60, on Saturday afternoon inside Becknell Gymnasium. Following the game, the Scots honored their two seniors – Liz Henderson and Madison Riley – as part of the Senior Day recognition.

The Scots finished the regular season at 27-3 (23-1 American Midwest Conference). The 27 wins tied the 2012-13 team for the most wins in the regular season, while the 23 conference victories are the most in a season in program history.

The Scots and Cougars kept the score close all throughout the first quarter until a bucket by Madison Riley gave the Scots a 9-8 lead with 1:58 remaining. From there, The Scots began to take over as Marleigh Dodson split a pair of free throws before Riley and Liz Henderson added a bucket each to extend the lead to 14-8. CC ended the run with a basket in the paint by Ukari McKinney before Haley Wesley gave the Scots a 16-10 lead after the first quarter.

It was all Lyon in the second quarter as the Scots outscored the Cougars, 27-14, in the period. A pair of free throws by Katie Turner with 30 seconds remaining gave the Scots their largest lead of the half at 43-24.

Kristen Baham knocked down a triple to open up the third quarter and pushed the Scots lead to 46-24 before CC cut the deficit in half over the next six minutes. The Scots ended the period with a three-pointer by Alexis Moore and a layup by Henderson and took a 56-40 advantage into the final quarter.

CC cut the deficit to 11 twice in the fourth quarter, but that would be as close as the Cougars would get as the Scots ended the game on a 6-0 run and earned a 77-60 win.

Riley recorded a double-double and just missed out on a triple-double as she finished with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds to go along with eight assists. Henderson chipped in 14 points, while Turner and Jade Giron finished with 10 points each.

The Scots will open the AMC Championship as the No. 1-seed and will host No. 8-seed Central Baptist College on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The accolades continue to roll in this week for No. 11 Lyon College women’s basketball senior guard Liz Henderson as she was named the NAIA Player of the Week, which was announced by the national office on Tuesday afternoon. Henderson is the first Scots to earn NAIA Player of the Week accolades since Samantha French earned the recognition on Jan. 29, 2019. It is the first time Henderson has been named NAIA Player of the Week in her career.

Henderson recorded her second double-double of the season with a team-high in points (22) and rebounds (10) in the Scots’ pivotal, 65-52, AMC victory over No. 12 Freed-Hardeman. She also scored the game-winning bucket on a three-point play with 3.2 seconds remaining in the contest. Henderson topped that performance with a career-high 32 points, which included 22 first-half points, in the Scots’ 79-52 win at Park. Henderson is the first Scot to score 30-or-more points in a game since Jamie Jackson scored 35 points on Nov. 1, 2016, against College of the Ozarks.

For the season, Henderson is averaging a team-high 15.0 points per game. She currently ranks sixth in the NAIA in total three-point field goals made (81) and 10^th in three-point field goals made per game (3.0).

Henderson and the Scots will host their final two games of the 2019-20 regular season this week. The Scots will face St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m., before taking on No. 15 Columbia College on Saturday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.

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BATESVILLE – The 20th-ranked Lyon College women’s basketball team got off to a fast start to begin its season as the Scots hit the century mark in a 101-30 victory over Champion Christian College on ‘Furry Frenzy Toy Toss Night.’ Madison Riley and Jade Giron paced the Scots with 20 and 18 points, respectively.

Lyon jumped out to an early 8-0 lead over the visiting Tigers through the first three minutes of the game, but the loudest cheer of the night came on a three-pointer by Liz Henderson at the 7:25 mark as stuffed animals flooded the court after the first made field goal by the Scots. The toys that were tossed out on the court will be donated to the United Way’s Angel Tree program.

After the court was cleared from the stuffed animals, the Scots went right back to work and extended their lead to 19 points at 24-5 on a layup by Giron with 1:26 left in the quarter. CCC answered back with a 5-0 run to trim the deficit to 14, but a three-pointer by Kaleah Davis gave the Scots a 28-10 lead after the first quarter.

The Scots pushed their lead to as many as 30 points midway through the second quarter as a layup by Riley put Lyon ahead, 47-17. Lyon continued to pull away from CCC and took a 61-21 lead into halftime on a layup by Giron just before the buzzer.

It was all Lyon in the second half as the Scots outscored the Tigers, 40-9, over the final two quarters. Lyon locked down defensively in the second half as CCC scored just one field goal over the final 20 minutes of the game.

Marleigh Dodson, Katie Turner and Henderson all added 11 points each in the win. Janiya Gilliam finished with a team-high 12 points for CCC.

The No. 20 Scots will travel to the College of Ozarks Classic in Point Lookout, Mo., on Nov. 15-16. The Scots will face John Brown on Nov. 15 at 5:30 p.m. before taking on the host, Lady Bobcats, on Nov. 16 at 4 p.m.

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LITTLE ROCK – Despite shooting an uncharacteristic 28.8 percent from the field, the eighth-ranked Lyon College women’s basketball team survived against Philander-Smith College (Ark.) Tuesday afternoon, defeating the Panthers 62-51 inside Crawford Mims Gymnasium. The Scots had a four point lead with 6:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, before pulling away with a 12-5 run for the remainder of the game.

Kiara Moore led the team with 16 points and nine rebounds, while adding two steals. Elliot Taylor entered the game just four points shy of 1,000 for her career, before posting 13 points to surpass the milestone. She also had seven rebounds and three assists. Sarah Elkins and Ali Tucker each added eight points.

Lyon improves to 9-1 overall for the season, while Philander-Smith falls to 7-5 overall. The Scots sit tied for first place with No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University, while William Woods is in second place with a 4-1 mark. No. 13 Columbia, No. 23 Lindenwood University-Belleville and Williams Baptist are tied for third with 4-2 conference marks.

BY THE NUMBERS

6 – The Scots outrebounded the Panthers by six, 45-39 in the game. Madison Riley and Kelsey Smith each finished third on the team with five rebounds apiece, while Gracen Ratliff had three.

16 – Lyon struggled throughout the game from beyond the arc shooting just 16 percent on 4-of-25 shooting. Moore, Liz Henderson and Tucker totaled the four three-pointers in the game for the Scots. Philander-Smith went 7-for-17 for 41.2 percent from three-point range.

26 – Lyon forced 26 Panther turnovers, including a team leading seven by Philander’s Terralyn Dominick. The Scots were able to score 24 points off those turnovers, while the Panthers scored nine points off 16 Scot turnovers.

11 – The Scots had 11 total assists, led by three apiece from Taylor and Henderson. Riley had two assists, while Tucker, Hailey Hastings and Whitney O’Dell posted one each.

GAME FLOW

Both teams were neck-and-neck in the first quarter as Lyon led 14-11 at the end of the period. The Scots opened the second quarter going on a 10-3 run to take a 24-14 lead, before adding eight more points in the quarter. Lyon led by an 11 point margin of 32-21 at halftime.

Things got interesting in the third quarter as the Panthers scored eight of the first nine points in the period, trailing 33-29 at the five minute mark. Lyon shot just 3-of-16 from the floor in the quarter, but held a seven point advantage going into the fourth at 46-39. Philander-Smith made a slight comeback in the fourth quarter to trail just 50-46 at the 6:28 mark.

Lyon then scored six straight points and eventually outlast the Panther threat.

WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE SCOTS
The Scots take a week off for the Christmas holiday before returning to James C. Becknell Gymnasium on Dec. 29. Lyon will take on No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University at 5:30 p.m. The game against the Lions has also been named the AMC ‘Game of the Week’ for the week of Dec. 26.

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ST. LOUIS, Mo.– The eighth-ranked Lyon College women’s basketball team had three players score in double-figures to help lead them to a 68-53 win over Missouri Baptist University Thursday night. It was the seventh-straight victory for Lyon, and fifth on the road this year.

Kiara Moore led the team with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Liz Henderson and Gracen Ratliff each posted 10 points. Sarah Elkins also pitched in eight points and nine rebounds.

Lyon improves to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the American Midwest Conference for the season, while Missouri Baptist falls to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The Scots hold onto first place, while No. 1 Freed-Hardeman University is in second place in the AMC with a 10-0 overall record and 4-0 mark in conference play.

Missouri Baptist sits in a three-way tie for seventh place, while Harris-Stowe State and Park. No. 23 Lindenwood University-Belleville and William Woods University sit in third place with a 4-1 mark in the AMC, while No. 13 Columbia is in fourth with a 4-2 conference record.

BY THE NUMBERS

42.4 – Lyon shot 42.4 percent from the field against the Spartans tonight on 25-of-59 from the field. Moore led the Scots with a 5-for-11 outing, while Ratliff was second going 4-for-6 from the floor.

46 – The Scots grabbed 46 total rebounds in the game. While Moore and Elkins led the way, Ratliff grabbed six boards. Henderson and Ali Tucker had four rebounds, while Samantha French had three.

30.2 – Missouri Baptist shot just 30.2 percent from the floor in the game, on 16-of-53 from the floor. The Spartans were also held to just 31.3 percent from beyond the arc on 5-of-16 shooting.

8 – Lyon had eight total steals in the game, led by five from Moore. Ratliff, Madison Riley and Kelsey Smith each had one.

GAME FLOW

After outscoring Missouri Baptist 15-9 in the first quarter, the Scots posted 19 more points in the second period to take a 34-23 halftime lead.

Kaci Hall and Moore opened up the scoring in the second half for the Scots – combining for five points, as the Scots would extend their lead to 49-33 with 2:16 left in the third later on. Henderson and French each made two free throws toward the end of the third, giving Lyon a 56-36 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Spartans tried to bounce back opening the fourth on a 9-4 run, but the Scots were able to sprint past MBU down the stretch. Riley, Henderson and Ratliff scored the team’s final six points in the final four minutes to clinch the victory.

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