The LBW Lady Saints (2-15) held off the Bishop State Lady Wildcats (6-10) Thursday night in Andalusia for a 55-47 conference victory.

 

The Lady Saints came out shooting strong from the floor. RaAunna Caldwell put the Lady Saints within 1 point of the Lady Wildcats with a long 2-pointer with 14 minutes left in the first half. Moments later Miesha Brooks gave the Lady Saints a 12-11 lead with a strong drive to the basket.

 

Lady Wildcats’ Esther Stokely took the lead back with a 3-pointer that found nothing but the bottom of the net.

 

The Lady Saints answered right back as Olivia Morris dished the rock to Sinteria Jones who finished it off with a layup. The layup tie the game up at 14-14 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the opening half.

 

Both teams went cold for a spell, and no one scored for the next three minutes. Brittany Moore broke the cold streak for the Lady Saints by going 1-for-2 from the free throw line. With the bucket the Lady Saints were up 15-14 with less than eight minutes to play in the first half.

 

The Lady Saints extended their lead when Andalusia native Alectricia Barnes banked in a 2-pointer to push their lead to 17-14. After a turnover by the Lady Wildcats, the Lady Saints got 2 more points from Caldwell to push the lead to 19-14. A few moments later Caldwell got an offensive rebound, and put it back up for 2 points.

 

Lady Wildcats’ Porha Kirsey got the final bucket of the half with one minute left in the first half, but the Lady Saints led at the half 21-17.

 

They Lady Wildcats got the first points of the second half when Patricia Heyward got an offensive rebound and took it right back up for 2 points. The two teams went back and forth for next few trips down the court.

 

Caldwell found Jones open underneath a few plays later, and Jones sank the layup to give the Lady Saints a 26-20 advantage. The next trip down the court Jones got an offensive rebound, and hit Brooks streaking to the basket for 2 points and a 28-20 lead.

 

The Lady Wildcats next points came at the 16-minute mark by way of a 3-pointer, but the Lady Wildcats still trailed 28-23.

 

Moments later Moore finished off a nice drive with a short bunny-hop and layup to give the Lady Saints a 31-23 advantage.

 

The teams continued to trade shots back and forth. Moore had the 6 points for the Lady Saints, who led 38-31 with eight minutes left in the game.

 

Brooks pushed the lead up to 41-33 with a strong drive to the basket while being fouled. The shot counted and Brooks sank the and-one opportunity. Brooks was fouled again a few moments later, and converted both shots to give the Lady Saints a 43-33 lead.

 

Following a 2-pointer from the Lady Wildcats, Brooks scored her sixth consecutive point for the Lady Saints to push the lead back up to 10 with four minutes remaining.

 

Caldwell had the Lady Saints’ last bucket from the field with two minutes remaining to give them a 49-38 lead. The rest of the Lady Saints’ points came by way of free throws. Down the stretch Brooks hit 1-of-2, Caldwell hit 2-of-4 and Barnes hit 3-of-4 to give the Lady Saints a 55-47 victory.

 

Jones led the Lady Saints with 14 points, followed by Brooks with 13 points. Caldwell ended the night with 12 points. Moore tallied 11 points, and Barnes rounded out the scoring with 5 points.

 

“We didn’t play bad, but we didn’t play great,” Lady Saints’ head coach Ricky Knight said. “We missed some baskets and free throws down the stretch that could have cost us the game. We played hard enough to win tonight. If we keep playing hard good things will happen. Now, we just have to keep working hard.”

 

With the win the Lady Saints move to 1-4 in conference play. With the loss the Lady Wildcats fall to 2-2 in conference play.

 

The Lady Saints will travel to Enterprise on Jan. 26 to face Enterprise State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30.