As Willie Nelson wrote and sang, “Miracles appear in the strangest of places. Fancy meeting you here.”

The Presbyterian College women’s basketball team popped Big South rival Winthrop on Wednesday evening, while, a 90-minute bus ride away, the men’s team was similarly clipping the Eagles’ wings.

The men scored 50 points in the paint. The women scored 46.

For a night, the Blue Hose made the Eagles an endangered species.

Fifth-year center Bryanna Brady sank 9/11 field-goal attempts and 5/7 free throw, leading the Blue Hose to a 62-40 Big South victory at Templeton Center.

“I was due for a game,” stated Brady, a Goodyear, Ariz., product. “I’ve been struggling offensively, trying to find other ways to produce. Coming out and being aggressive from the beginning – and my teammates getting the ball inside – helped me a lot and gave me some confidence.

“It was one of my last home games, and I’m proud to wear this PC jersey.”

The Blue Hose and Eagles were seriously “pinking out” to raise breast-cancer awareness. PC wore pink uniforms with white lettering, while Winthrop wore white with pink.

Presbyterian (16-13, 7-6 BSC) outpointed Winthrop (12-14, 6-7), 46-16, in the paint and 13-5 off turnovers. The Blue Hose took control in the second quarter and scattered the Eagles in disarray during the final period, which they won, 16-4.

Tilda Sjokvist added 14 points and three assists. Paige Kindseth led the game’s rebounders with seven.

After five lead changes and four ties in the first 10 minutes, Winthrop led, 13-12, then scored the final nine points of the second period to lead, 33-23, at halftime.
PC maintained the lead in the third quarter and dominated the fourth.

The Blue Hose’ 22-point margin of victory was the greatest in conference play since a 23-point decision over Charleston Southern on Feb. 15, 2020. The Blue Hose head into an idle Saturday riding a four-game win streak.

“Our defense has been really good,” stated PC head coach Alaura Sharp. “We’re big, we’re long and we’re playing really good basketball right now. You love to ‘bye’ a game, but you hate it at the same time because you don’t want it to cool us off.

“We put a lot of effort into it, but they’re playing loose and confident, and I think that’s fun for them.”

Winthrop’s leading scorer was Marissa Gasaway with 11 points. The Eagles hit .294 (15/51) overall and .160 (.160) from three-point distance. Presbyterian’s marksmanship was sharply divided. The Blue Hose shot .510 (25/49) overall but hit just 1/10 three-pointers.
The Blue Hose are back in Clinton for a rematch against USC Upstate next Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.

Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill was no less friendly for Quinton Ferrell’s Blue Hose, who broke a 10-game skid against the Eagles with a 78-55 verdict in front of 2,272 mostly disappointed Winthrop partisans.

Ferrell called it “our best 40 minutes of the season.”

Samage Teel scored 22 points and distributed five assists to lead Presbyterian (13-16, 5-9). Teel, Marquis Barnett (19) and Kaleb Scott (13) combined for 54.

“The team believed in me. Coach (Ferrell) believed in me,” Teel, a junior from Greenville, N.C., and Winston-Salem State. “We played all as one, and that’s what really helped us throughout the game.

“We came in here and slowed them down. We paid attention to the game plan and listened to our coaches.”

It was Presbyterian’s first win at Winthrop since Feb. 14, 2012.                                                                                                

It all began with Winthrop (16-12, 7-6) scoring the game’s first four points. The Eagles led, 28-19, with 6:58 remaining in the opening half. PC finished the half by scoring nine of the final 10 points to take a 43-36 halftime lead after a triple from Teel at the buzzer.

The Blue Hose scored the first six points of the second half and most of the ones thereafter.

Presbyterian limited Winthrop to 19 points and .276 shooting (8/29) from the field in the second half. The Blue Hose shot .525 from the field for the game and .577 in the second half.

Kelton Talford led Winthrop with 15 points, followed by Micheal Anumba’s 13. Talford is a senior from Great Falls. Anumba is a fifth-year player from Reggio Emelia, Italy.

“In the second half, we came out on both ends and got it done at a high level,” Ferrell stated. “This time of year, your team is either coming up or going down. Guys are either thinking about the conference tournament or kind of packing it in. Our guys are showing where their mindset is.”

Presbyterian returns to action next Wednesday, Feb. 28 in Spartanburg against USC Upstate at 7 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.           

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