NASHVILLE, Tenn. (courtesy of @TNUsports) – Christina Curtner scored 15 second-half points to lead Trevecca Nazarene (13-7, 10-1 G-MAC) to a 65-62 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan (14-6, 9-2) on Saturday afternoon. It was a battle for first in the G-MAC as both teams entered the game tied for the overall regular season lead.
The win puts TNU into sole possession of first place in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference for the first time this season. It was Trevecca's seventh win in a row and eighth of their last nine.
Trevecca leads the all-time series with KWC 3-1 now. The margin of victory in the four-game series has been slim in each case. Trevecca won the first meeting of this season, 61-60 on January 18th in Owensboro. Last season Trevecca won 79-77 at the Trojan Fieldhouse. In the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women's basketball, November 13, 2012, KWC won an overtime game 83-79 in Owensboro. Ironically, the game that has the largest margin of victory in the series, was an overtime game.
The first half tonight was tightly contested as there were five ties and eight lead changes. Trevecca's Paige Baugher gave her team its biggest lead, 19-13, after a pair of free throws with 9:02 left in the half.
KWC rallied to tie the game at 24-24 after a Kourtney Rhoads jumper with 4:49 left. Asia Coates then hit a free throw to give Kentucky Wesleyan a 27-26 lead which they would not lose the rest of the half. The Panthers led 35-33 at the break.
Rhoads and Sarah Raby each scored 11 points in the first half to lead their teams. Kentucky Wesleyan converted 12 Trevecca turnovers into 10 points to aid in its halftime lead as well.
In the second half, KWC's Jade Mills-Harris gave her team a 44-39 lead following a layup with 15:27 left.
The Trojans would rally though. Trailing 44-39, Helen Mitchner would ignite a 17-3 run. After a Haley Felker layup, Mitchner would bury a three-point shot to tie the game at 44.
Jordanne Gambill gave the Panthers another lead 46-44 but on the ensuing possession but Mitchner hit another long ball which gave Trevecca a lead it would never relinquish.
The Trojans pulled ahead by nine (56-47) with 6:35 left. They kept the lead until KWC pulled with two points with 56 seconds remaining after a Kourtney Rhoads three-pointer.
The Panthers got to within one point on two more occasions and had a chance to tie the game at 65 at the buzzer, but Gambill's three-point shot at the top of the arc was rejected by Kaci Britt Bell.
Raby tallied 15 points for Trevecca while Mitchner came off the bench to score 11. Curtner grabbed 10 boards to go along with her 15 points for the double-double. As a team Trevecca was 17-of-21 (81%) from the free throw line. They also had a 20-14 bench points advantage.