St. Andrews women’s basketball fends off late rally by Kentucky Christian to remain perfect

LAURINBURG — The St. Andrews Knights women’s basketball team isn’t supposed to be doing this.

With a new head coach and just eight available players right now, they’re not supposed to be playing as well as they are. Being voted last in the Appalachian Athletic Conference preseason poll at 15th, they’re not supposed to be winning like they are.

But they are. And they’re proving all the doubters wrong as they go.

St. Andrews continued its electric start to the season Saturday afternoon by taking down the ninth-ranked team in the AAC preseason poll, the Kentucky Christian Knights, 75-63 on its way to going 3-0 with a 2-0 mark to kick off AAC play. The overall record for St. Andrews is the best through its first three games in nine years.

“I feel like we’re playing as a team this year, and we all love basketball, and we’re not going to quit,” St. Andrews guard Ashley Starks said. “I feel everyone was downing the women’s basketball program and (saying) we wouldn’t make it far; (that) we’re behind everybody… I think it’s motivation, but I also think it’s just like, whatever. We’re just going to go out there and do what we have to do to win. We also have a good coach.”

“Kentucky Christian’s a well-coached team, so if you have to beat them, it’s got to be a team win. And this is the textbook definition of a team win,” St. Andrews head coach Vinnie Granato said. “They keep competing, keep getting after it. And that’s what I’m sure the fans, everyone watching, are probably enjoying, too. Everyone had their imprint there… That’s everyone on the bench, everyone that was there. That’s what makes this group special.”

After St. Andrews held a 16-point lead at 51-35 with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter, Kentucky Christian (0-2, 0-1 AAC) stormed back to trail by just one at 56-55 with 5:42 left. Scott cashed home a layup, and Starks knocked down a 3, though, to push the lead back to six for St. Andrews. A pair of free throws by Kentucky Christian forward Jada Johnson made it 61-57 before a layup by forward Madison Larrimore and a jump shot by Starks extended the St. Andrews lead with 3:21 to go. Kentucky Christian never got to within four or less the rest of the way, and St. Andrews went 6 of 8 on free throws to help keep its lead at bay.

Although they shot just 19-for-58 (32.8%) from the field, St. Andrews had a whopping 32 free throws on 42 tries (76.2%) on the day. Guard A.J. Price went 8 of 12 at the free-throw line; Cruz was 6 of 8; Tougher was 5 of 8; center Caycee Scott was 1 of 2.

“It’s big every time,” Granato said on making free throws. “You’ve got to keep your poise at the line, knock them down. Free throws are free throws. (You’ve) got to make them early (in the) game, middle (of the) game, late (in the) game, in the clutch. And we were able to do that, and really fortunate for that.”

Starks made all 12 of her free throws and said she attributes her excellent day at the stripe to practicing them often.

“I feel like I work on free throws a lot,” Starks said. “I just think that it’s me and the goal, so it’s just a focus for me.”

Starks led the octet of players by scoring 33 points and also had five rebounds and two steals; guard Emily Cruz paced the way with 11 rebounds and five assists and had 15 points; and Tougher notched three of St. Andrews’ five total blocks and had eight points and three rebounds.

St. Andrews led 8-4 to start the game following four starters recording at least a point — Tougher totaled three, Price and Starks scored two, and Cruz had one. Kentucky Christian took the lead, though, going on an 11-2 run before St. Andrews recaptured it by scoring the ensuing eight points, which featured a trey each from Cruz and Starks. Guard Presley Grant knocked down a midrange shot to end the scoreless streak for Kentucky Christian, but St. Andrews closed the first quarter with two free throws apiece by Price and Starks to lead 22-15.

Price kickstarted another 8-0 scoring spurt for the St. Andrews Knights to begin the next period with another pair of free throws before guards Abby West and Sarah Sorrells and Johnson put in layups to cut Kentucky Christian’s deficit to 30-21 with 2:10 remaining before the half. Both teams traded two points on five consecutive possessions before Cruz connected on a layup with three seconds left before the halftime horn sounded to put St. Andrews up 36-27.

Johnson recorded 21 points — with nine coming at the free-throw line on 13 attempts — and five rebounds off the bench for Kentucky Christian; guard Bellamee Sparks had 11 points and six rebounds; West had 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals; and guard Elizabeth Hardwick had six points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

Kentucky Christian shot 22-for-64 (34.4%) overall and were just 3 of 23 (13%) on 3s. They out-rebounded St. Andrews 41-39 and had one more turnover than St. Andrews at 23.

St. Andrews looks to keep their win streak going when they head to Virginia to take on Bluefield on Tuesday.