MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Lees-McRae women's basketball team dropped a close 71-68 decision in overtime at Chowan Saturday afternoon in Conference Carolinas action. The loss pushes Lees-McRae's record to 8-21 overall and 5-16 in conference play.
The first 20 minutes of action were pretty tight between the Bobcats and Hawks in nearly every statistical category. The difference in the first half proved to be Chowan's ability to knock down a few more shots from beyond the arc and crashing the glass. The Hawks out-rebounded the Bobcats 22-12 in the first half and knocked down six three-pointers compared to two for Lees-McRae. With those two factors working in Chowan's favor, it took a 34-28 lead into the halftime break.
Lees-McRae would continue to chip away at Chowan's advantage in the second half. After foul trouble limited her minutes in the first half, Destiny Johnson came back in the second half and scored 24 of Lees-McRae's 34 points to spark the Bobcats to come all the way back and force an overtime period between the two teams. The extra period between the two teams was not filled with a ton of offense but Chowan was able to knock down five of seven free throws to go along with a pair of field goals to edge the Bobcats, 71-68.
Johnson finished the afternoon with a career-high 31 points against the Hawks. The Lincolnton, N.C. native also added a team-high six rebounds in the contest. Freshman Makayla Smith was the only other Bobcat in double figures Saturday finishing with 12 points on a 4-for-8 effort from the field.
Lees-McRae will close out its regular season on Tuesday when it visits Emmanuel. The Bobcats are still alive to make the Conference Carolinas Tournament but will need help to get there. Tip-off between Lees-McRae and Emmanuel is set for 5:30 p.m.
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