The Spring Hill College women’s basketball team bounced back with a 63-44 win over Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) foe Allen at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center on Saturday.

The Badgers kept things close in the beginning, but the Yellowjackets held an 8-7 lead through the first five minutes of play. Kellyn Hunter, Tiana Smith and Claudia Garrido combined for a 9-0 run towards the end of the quarter and pushed SHC ahead 18-10. A layup from Allen cut the lead back down to 18-12 by the first buzzer.

Marta Duda opened scoring in the second quarter with a layup and pushed the Badgers ahead 20-12. The Yellowjackets tied the game once at 22-22 with 3:31 left in the half. Emyria Harris hit nylon from beyond the arc, followed by a layup from Smith and a jumper from Duda to give Spring Hill  29-23 lead going into halftime.

Allen regained the lead (30-29) to start the third quarter, but only held on for a moment as Duda tied the game at 30-30 with a free throw. After a couple back-and-forth possessions, Jordan Bowden broke a 32-32 tie up with a bucket in the paint, followed by a 3-pointer from Hunter to take a 35-32 lead with two minutes in the quarter. SHC held a 40-38 lead through the end of the third quarter of play.

The Badgers outscored the Yellow Jackets 23-6 in the fourth quarter and bounced back with a 63-44 home conference win.

Hunter led the game in scoring with 19 points and recorded a season-high 11 free throws and eight assists. Duda was just behind her with 14 points and narrowly missed a double-double while recording a team-leading nine rebounds.

Game Details
Date: Jan. 6
Time: 2 p.m.
Venue (Location): Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center (Mobile, Ala.)

Results
Spring Hill 63, Allen 44
Records: Spring Hill (3-8, 3-4 SIAC), Allen (4-7, 1-5 SIAC)

They Said It
Head Coach Dan Presel
On the game
“I thought we started off great, 18-12 [in the] first quarter. We had a game goal to win all four quarters, I know that sounds simple, but you win four quarters, you win the game. We’re trying to build a consistent brand of basketball. Middle of the game, Allen is going to fight and they’re going to compete and I think we kind of lost our composure some, probably myself included. I was really excited to see us, especially down the stretch in the fourth quarter, we really gathered ourselves and finished the game the right way.”

Kellyn Hunter (Guard, Fr.)
On her and her team’s performance
“I could’ve been better, but I tried my best towards the end to help us get the win and I feel like that’s all that matters and I’ll keep progressing and working hard. We [the team] did amazing. We came together and we did our best winning most of the quarters and we’re just going to keep progressing from there.”

Marta Duda (Forward, R-Jr.)
On her and her team’s performance
“I think it was tough, the defense was in the paint, so it was harder to score. I feel like everyone did a great job and a lot of people were scoring and I felt like we were flowing offensively. Also, I think everyone was doing a great job on the defense.”

Up Next
Spring Hill will continue the homestand with a conference game against Central State on Saturday.

For complete coverage of Spring Hill women’s basketball, follow the Badgers on social media @SHCwbball (X), /SHCBADGERS (Facebook), @shcwomensbball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Spring Hill athletics at shcbadgers.com