BANNER ELK, N.C. –
Nadiya Hairston led Lees-McRae women's basketball to a fourth-quarter comeback and scored 20 points in the second half for the 60-48 win over No. 11 Ferrum in the second round of the 2026 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championship.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 5 Lees-McRae –
60, No. 11 Ferrum – 48
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Ferrum (10-21/7-13); Lees-McRae (20-7/15-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Sandra Mason opened the scoring with a layup at the 8:52 mark of the first quarter. Kaylee Carson connected on a jumper with 7:19 remaining in the opening quarter.
- Ferrum gained the lead at 7-6 and pushed the advantage to six points after a three-pointer from Aleksandra Kubiak. Lees-McRae cut the margin back to four after a jumper from Carson.
- The Bobcats evened the score at 20 with free throw makes from Kirsten Watt in the second quarter. Ferrum answered with a three from Maslyn Mosbacher for the 26-24 and the Panthers held the 26-25 advantage at the halftime break.
- Lees-McRae regained the lead at 27-26, but Ferrum pushed ahead with 5-0 run for the 36-29 advantage. Ferrum held the slim 38-36 margin heading into the final 10 minutes.
- Hairston started the comeback with a fastbreak layup for the 38-38 score. Mason drained a three-pointer for the 41-40 advantage and the Bobcats pushed the lead to 11 points after a three-pointer from Hairston at the 3:17 mark of the fourth quarter.
- Hairston registered 23 points and eight rebounds this evening. Carson joined Hairston in double-digit scoring with 12 points and three boards. Sydney Gueterman collected eight points, eight rebounds, three steals, and one block in 40 minutes.
- Lees-McRae went 20-54 (37.0%) from the floor with three made three-pointers and tallied 17 points from the free-throw line.
- Lees-McRae earned its first tournament victory since the 2003-2004 season when the Bobcats defeated Limestone, 82-72, and moved to the quarterfinal round.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae women's basketball heads to Spartanburg, South Carolina for the quarterfinal round of the 2026 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championship. The Bobcats will face No. 4 Shorter on Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m. in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
