COLUMBIA, S.C. — The St. Andrews Knights women’s basketball team shot 40.4% on 23-for-57 shooting, going 11-for-28 (39.3%) from 3, and 18-for-21 (85.7%) from the free-throw line to snap an 11-game losing streak and win its first game since Nov. 11 with a 75-55 result against the Columbia International Rams inside the Moore Fitness Center Tuesday.
St. Andrews (4-11, 3-11 Appalachian Athletic Conference) led 23-7 after a quarter played and was ahead 37-24 at the half; the Lady Knights outscored CIU (3-12, 2-11 AAC) 38-31 in the second half.
St. Andrews’ Ashley Starks nailed seven triples on 14 attempts and five of her six free-throw tries to score 26 points with four rebounds; A.J. Price chipped in 16 points, four rebounds and three assists; Emily Cruz had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists; Madison Larrimore went for a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double with four steals and Samantha Tougher grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals.
Keniah Watkins and Mariah Leinback each scored 23 points for the Rams, who shot 27.4% (20-for-73) and 11.4% (4-for-35) from 3-point range; Watkins had six rebounds and Leinback grabbed nine.
St. Andrews is at home again Saturday for a doubleheader against Tennessee Wesleyan at noon and 2 p.m.
St. Andrews men lose 11th straight
The St. Andrews Knights men’s basketball team suffered its 11th consecutive loss in an 86-72 final at Columbia International on Tuesday.
The Knights (3-14, 1-13 Appalachian Athletic Conference) put themselves in a disadvantage at the half, down 51-32. They were able to make up some ground in the second half, outscoring the Rams (11-7, 9-4 AAC) 40-35, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make the game competitive.
Jalen Mcafee-Marion dropped a season-high 36 points on 14-for-22 shooting (7-for-10 from 3) with four rebounds and three assists for St. Andrews; Quwaun Barned netted 12 points with five rebounds and Sincere Clark scored six points with seven rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Darrian Oates missed only three of his nine shot attempts and only one of his five attempted 3s to finish with 16 points, along with four assists, for the winning team; Dianthony Heathcoack posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds; Will Kelly scored 12 points; Bryce Causey had nine points and six rebounds; Brandon Hunt closed with seven points and five rebounds and Jaylon Jeter had four points and rebounds each and two steals.
St. Andrews finished with just seven free-throw attempts, making four, and shot 29-for-66 (43.9%) for the game and 10-for-21 (47.6%) from beyond the arc. CIU’s scoring stats were 31-for-66 (47.0%) overall, 11-for-24 (45.8%) from 3 and 13-for-18 (72.2%) from the foul stripe.