Lady Hawks reach 20 wins, advance to USA South quarterfinals

DEMOREST, Ga. – The Huntingdon women's basketball team accomplished a pair of firsts in Saturday's 72-57 win over Salem in the opening round of the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament.

After missing the conference tournament during its first three seasons in the conference, Huntingdon captured its first USA South tournament victory on Saturday.

The win was the 20th of the season, marking the first time during the NCAA era that the Lady Hawks (20-6) have reached 20 wins. The 2012-13 team held the Lady Hawks' previous NCAA-era mark and finished with a 19-10 record.

Huntingdon advances to Sunday's USA South Tournament quarterfinals at Piedmont. The Lady Hawks will play the Lions (18-7) at 1 p.m. (Central). Huntingdon is the third seed in the West Division. Piedmont is the second seed in the West Division.

Junior Juliette Harp recorded her 14th double-double of the season, tying a season-high with 26 points and tying a career-high with 19 rebounds. With three blocks against Salem, Harp became Huntingdon's NCAA-era leader in career blocks with 151. Dusti Doss held the previous record of 149.

Freshman Maia Hill tied her career high with 19 points and sophomore T.I. Duncan turned in a career-high 12 rebounds to go with nine points, five steals and four assists. Senior Jello Weatherspoon added nine points and five assists and senior Jenna Dorman finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

Huntingdon took control of the game late in the first half and early in the second half. Leading 22-21 with 3:43 left in the second quarter, the Lady Hawks closed the first half with a 12-4 run. A pair of 3-pointers by Hill and four points from Harp helped power the run.

A 25-point third quarter helped Huntingdon put the game away as the Lady Hawks built a 22-point lead.