Lady Hawks snap streak, beat Maryville for first time since 2008

MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Huntingdon women's basketball team won its conference opener with an 82-65 win over Maryville on Friday.

Behind a combined 67 points from T.I. Duncan, Alex Lowery, Hannah Parks and Shaonica Thomas, the Lady Hawks (5-1, 1-0 USA South) snapped a 20-game losing streak against the Scots. The win was Huntingdon's second against Maryville in 30 meetings during the NCAA era and the first win since Feb. 2008.

Duncan just missed a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Parks, who was 3-for-3 from 3-point range and had three blocks, finished just short of a double-double with career highs in points (15) and rebounds (9). Lowery added 19 points and was 5-for-9 from 3-point range and Thomas finished with 13 points.

An even game early, neither team led by more than five points in the first 17 minutes. Maryville led 25-23 at the end of the first quarter and held a 33-32 lead with three minutes to play in the first half.

That's when Huntingdon took the lead for good and made its first of three runs in the game. A basket by Duncan with 2:49 left in the first half gave Huntingdon a 34-33 lead. Duncan scored the final 10 points of the first half, sparking a 10-1 run as Huntingdon carried a 40-34 lead into the half.

Maryville cut Huntingdon's lead to 42-40 in the first two minutes of the third quarter before the Lady Hawks used an 11-0 run to pull ahead. Sparked by five points from Thomas and two points each from Parks, Destinee Washington and Duncan, Huntingdon built a 53-40 lead with 5:10 to play in the third quarter.

Leading 60-52 entering the fourth quarter, Huntingdon used a 10-0 run to build an 18-point lead. A pair of 3-pointers by Lowery and baskets by Abiba Bernard and Thomas made it 70-52 with 6:44 left in the game. Huntingdon took its largest lead of the game, 82-62, on a free throw by Washington with 2:02 to play.

Records: Huntingdon (5-1, 1-0 USA South); Maryville (0-5, 0-1 USA South)

Notable: Interim head coach Paige Huff has been a part of both of Huntingdon's wins against Maryville. In addition to coaching the Lady Hawks to Friday's 17-point victory, Huff was a senior starter when Huntingdon beat the Scots 68-62 in 2008.

Coming Up: Huntingdon returns to action on Saturday at Covenant. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (Central).