Jan. 9, 2009

JACKSON — No. 10 Lambuth badgered and harassed Trevecca Nazarene into 26 turnovers, and the Lady Eagles tarnished the No. 3 Lady Trojans perfect season with an 80-62 win Thursday night.

The Lady Eagles (11-4) held the Lady Trojans to 36 percent shooting from the field, despite Trevecca (13-1) being in the top 11 in the nation in field goal percentage and scoring offense.

Lambuth coach Bob Boldon said this was his team's most complete game this season as his Lady Eagles allowed TNU within 10 points just twice in the second half.

"We have played some pretty good games before, but we forced 26 turnovers while only committing 13," Boldon said. "We are never going to stop the No. 3 team in the nation, but I think we slowed them down and took them out of their offense.

"We pressured them with our guards, and our posts (played) good help-defense if the guards made mistakes."

TNU coach Gary Van Atta said starting point guard Christina Gibson has missed several games with a broken nose, but that none of his players handled the ball well.

"Casey Atteberry started as a freshman (Thursday), but that is still no excuse," Van Atta said. "Lambuth's three guards are going to be the quickest and most athletic we will face, and they just were the better team (Thursday).

"We usually love facing a pressure defense because we like to run, but Lambuth got us out-of-sync the entire game."

The Lady Trojans cut a 13-point halftime deficit to eight on an Abby Lawson 3-pointer near the 16-minute mark, but Lambuth answered with seven consecutive points to increase its lead back to double-digits.

"We couldn't score on three or four possessions after that to cut deeper into the lead," Van Atta said. "They just had an answer for every run we made."

Lawson, who is the reigning TranSouth Conference Player of the Week, tied for a game-high 18 points with teammate K.C. Van Atta and Lambuth guard Chytearra Kintchen.

Kintchen did her damage on 7-of-13 shooting while the TNU pair combined for 12-of-27.

The Kent State transfer was one of five Lady Eagles in double figures, including Jenee Webb (15), Donna Lavea (13), and Yolanda Johnson and Kayla Bryant with 11 points.

TNU chopped the lead down to 67-57, but Bryant answered with a 3-pointer to spark a 13-5 run to end the game.

Lambuth is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the NAIA, and the Lady Eagles made 10, despite shooting just 30 percent from beyond the arc.

"We just played consistent defense, and scored when the opportunity presented itself," Boldon said. "I was very happy with the effort and our kids kept their composure when they made their runs."

The Lady Trojans attempted 26 free throws partly because of Lambuth's physical style, but only made 15 of them, while the Lady Eagles made 11-of-16 free throws in the second half.