Lady Hawks tied for first in GSAC standings

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon women's basketball coach Buzz Phillips had a good feeling when the Lady Hawks took the court Saturday.

Hosting Agnes Scott in a key Great South Athletic Conference battle, Phillips could tell his team was ready for the challenge. Huntingdon scored the first 11 points of the game and rolled to a 69-45 win.

"With Agnes Scott coming in 4-0 in the conference and us being 3-1, we knew the importance of this game," Phillips said. "When we walked in today, I could see we had our game face on. We played well early and built a lead and we didn't get complacent when we got the lead.

"We were able to get another overall team effort. We shot the ball well, we handled the ball well and we controlled the boards. Winning the rebound battle was big for us."

Huntingdon finished with 53 rebounds to Agnes Scott's 30.

The win was the fifth straight for Huntingdon (10-8, 4-1 GSAC) and created a three-way tie for first in the GSAC standings. Agnes Scott (9-8) and Salem (11-8) are also 4-1 in the GSAC.

"We're at the halfway point of the conference schedule and we're tied for first in the GSAC," Phillips said. "We need to continue to come out and play with the same focus and intensity during the second half of the conference schedule.

"This team can't afford to get complacent. We have to show up ready to play every game. We step out of conference play on Tuesday at Judson and then we're back at it with Salem coming here next weekend. Salem beat us by 21 earlier this season so it's going to be a big one. We want to come out every game and perform like we did today."

On Saturday, Huntingdon jumped out to an 11-0 lead and led 34-18 at halftime. Huntingdon extended its lead in the second half and led by at least 20 points for most of the second half.

Morgan Crawford finished with 17 points, eight assists and three steals for Huntingdon. Patricia Pickens and Devin Douglas both turned in double-doubles and Tanjanik Munford just missed a double-double.

Pickens totaled 16 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, Douglas added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Munford followed with 11 rebounds and nine points.

Huntingdon plays at Judson on Tuesday at 6 p.m.