Cincinnati, Ohio – On Wednesday January 18
th, your Mount St. Joseph Women's Basketball team played host to the Grizzlies of Franklin College. The Lions stellar defense remained strong the entire night as they held Franklin to single digit points in two quarters and caused 17 steals to earn a 58-48 victory.
In the first period, the Lions wasted no time building a lead over the Grizzlies. The trio of
Anyiah Murphy,
Madison Drummonds and
Karlee Mills scored the first three baskets of the game. Mills converted her and one opportunity as the Mount led 9-0 with 6:50 left in the period as Franklin called a thirty second timeout. Out of the timeout, Franklin finally found a way to get on the scoreboard but that score was quickly answered by Senior
Chloe Jansen for her first basket of the game. The Mounts offense would then cool for the remainder of the period as the Lions only scored a couple more baskets in the final 4 minutes. The Franklin run was halted by Sienna Slaugher as she made a reverse layup to give the Lions a 15-13 lead going into period 2.
The slow start continued for the Lions heading into quarter number two as the Lions didn't find the bottom of the net until the 5:36 mark of the quarter.
Carlee Daulton knocked down a short corner jumper to put the Lions ahead by one. Daulton would then take advantage of a pair of free throws to build the lead. With the lead trading back and forth for the remainder of the period,
Morgan Jenkins provided very solid minutes for the Mount. Jenkins quickly provided a steal which she took to the other end for an easy layup. In the following Grizzlies possession, Jenkins started a fast break layup for
Madison Drummonds with a block. With a minute left in the half Jenkins was found in the corner by
Karlee Mills as she knocked down the shot to tie the game. As the quarter came to a close, the Mount found themselves trailing 30-29.
In the second half, both teams dominated with their defense. The Lions held the Grizzlies to just 30% shooting and caused havoc with 5 steals and 3 blocks. Offensively five different Lions provided points in the quarter which was a mix between free throws, layups and a three point jump shot which was knocked down from
Karlee Mills. With their stellar defense which held the Grizzles to just 9 points allowed the Mount to pull the game tied at 39 heading into the 4
th.
The final period was more of the same for the Mount.
Karlee Mills provided offense quickly as she took the opening inbound pass for a basket which was quickly followed by a steal and a foul as she knocked down both free throws to grow the mount lead to 1. With the lead tied at 46, the Lions would go on a 12-2 run to close out the game.
Chloe Jansen scored the only basket from that point on but the Lions clutch free throw shooting iced the game and earned them a 58-48 win over Franklin. In the final quarter, the Lions finished 15-18 from the line which is a solid 83% shooting.
Leading the Lions was Freshman
Karlee Mills who provided 19 points, 5 steals, and 3 assists on the night.
Anyiah Murphy also scored double digits on the night with 12 points and 5 steals of her own.
Madison Drummonds also came up huge for the Mount with a game high 11 rebounds.
Up next for the Lions is an HCAC matchup verses Anderson University. Tip off is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
