Women's Basketball Defeats Southern Wesleyan in Season Opener
The Maggie Peeler era opened on Friday night in style at Belk Arena as Erskine's Lady Flying Fleet defeated Southern Wesleyan College, 70-63.
Freshman Tiffany Mast (Stafford, VA) led the way with a stellar floor game. The 5-7 Mast dished out 14 assists on the evening to go with five steals and six rebounds. Fellow freshman Shakela Fuller (Cross Hill, SC) and senior Mandy Wyatt (Piedmont, SC) were the main recipients of Mast's passing, Fuller scoring 18 in her Erskine debut and Wyatt adding 17.
The Fleet took a 35-32 lead into the locker room at halftime despite frigid shooting. The fleet connected on only 15-42 field goal attempts and 4-16 three point attempts. Coupled with the poor shooting was 10 turnovers. Fuller was the lone bright spot in the half scoring 16 points.
The second half proved a different tale with Erskine pushing the lead up to as many as 11. Wyatt heated up with 15 second half points. Junior Anne Marie Dias (Honea Path, SC) and senior Becky McBroom (Columbia, SC) had big second halves as well. The 5-5 Dias scored 9 points including a jump shot from the free throw line which pushed the lead 11 points. McBroom played a solid game in the middle, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. It was her back to back baskets midway through the second half gave Erskine the lead for good. Sophomore Tre Wylie returned from ACL surgery last season to score six points and grab a career-high 11 rebounds.
Still the star of the night was Mast. Her floor game was outstanding as was her defense on Southern Wesleyan star Annie Downam.
"Tiffany played really well for us. her passing and ballhandling gave us the scoring opportunities we needed. I am really proud of our team for coming out and winning in our first game. We learned a lot tonight, now we must improve and find more opportunities to win games," commented Peeler.
Erskine plays again Monday at Presbyterian. Game time is 7:00 PM.
