The Spring Hill College women’s basketball suffered a 77-75 loss to Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) foe Kentucky State at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center on Monday evening.
The Badgers hung in there with the Thorobreds, who led the SIAC with an 8-0 conference record coming into the game, from the start. Kentucky State only held a 9-6 lead going into the first media break.
Shortly after, SHC closed the gap on a jumper from Claudia Garrido, then took the lead on a fastbreak layup from Tiana Smith. Nicole Blanch added a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound for insurance and gave the Badgers a 13-9 lead with less than 2:30 left in the quarter.
KSU regained the lead shortly after, but was met with gritty play by Spring Hill, who tied the game at 16-16 by the end of the opening quarter. SHC scored five of its 11 second-chance points during the first quarter.
SHC came out swinging in the second quarter and went on a 15-2 run led by Smith and Jalisha Mann, which led to a 31-21 lead over the conference leader. Spring Hill’s tenacity did not fade, as it grew its lead to 11 points within the quarter.
The Badgers held the lead for most of the third quarter, turning it over for less than two minutes. A basket from beyond the arc from Smith put SHC in front 54-51 going into the fourth quartet.
Both teams exchanged the lead in the fourth, until Spring Hill went on a 6-0 run with 2:43 left in the game to take a 70-64 lead. The Badgers hung on until the game was tied at 75-75 with seven seconds left on the clock.
A foul call with 0.3 seconds left provided two free throws to the Thorobreds, who converted them into a 77-75 win over SHC.
Kellyn Hunter led the Badgers in scoring with 17 points and Marta Duda led the game in rebounding with 12 as a part of her double-double that also featured 12 points. KSU’s Gracen Kerr led the game in scoring with 22 points.
Game Details
Date: Jan. 15
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Venue (Location): Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center (Mobile, Ala.)
Results
Kentucky State 77, Spring Hill 75
Records: Kentucky State (13-2, 9-0 SIAC), Spring Hill (3-10, 3-6 SIAC)
They Said It
Head Coach Dan Presel
On the game
“Proud of our kids, man we played well enough to win for the second night in a row. Very disappointed and hurt for them that we were not able to do it. Hate that it came down to a foul at the end. I wish the officials would’ve maybe just let it play and we could’ve figured it out in overtime. Enough plays throughout the game for us to win. A couple of free throws here, couple turnovers there and that’s the game, you know. Again, we’re learning, we are building belief, we are learning how to win against good teams and [high] pressure games. I’m encouraged by that and my message to the team is we just have to keep going forward and the breakthrough will come.”
On facing multiple road games in a row
“Honestly, I’ve always been a fan of playing on the road more than at home, because it’s just your group together. So, obviously we have a big week of practice, we got three practices before we start playing again. It’s a chance for us to improve; it’s a chance for us to take these lessons we’ve learned, improve on them, just be together more and continue to grow as a group.”
Claudia Garrido (Guard, Jr.)
On her performance
“I felt like I tried to help my team by giving everything I could. I did make some mistakes that I need to correct and I feel grateful for the coaches and team that I have. They’re always supporting me and if I make a mistake I know they will not take me down for that, they will try to help me. I think we’re coming together more. I think tonight, we had an amazing effort. We come out against the first-place team on our side of the conference and were right there with them. I just think we needed to clean up some mistakes and we could’ve beat them tonight, we just didn’t have the opportunity at the end. I really think our team was engaged and I feel like today was one of our best games so far.”
On traveling with her team
“I feel like playing on the road allows us to get together, because at the end of the day, you’re with people that you’re spending the whole year with and now you’ve got a chance to spend the whole day with them and get to know them. I really feel like when you’re on the road is the best chance to get to know each other. We will spend the whole weekend together and I think this will give us a great opportunity to get engaged and create our team energy.”
Up Next
The Badgers will start a three-game conference road swing at Lane 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
