FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Freshman Jatasia Bailey erupted offensively for the Piedmont College women's basketball team in an 84-74 victory on Saturday afternoon over the Gorlocks of Webster University.
The youngster from East Hall High School had not yet scored in double figures in her freshman season for Head Coach Jamie Purdy before exploding for game-high 24 points in the ten-point win over the Gorlocks. Bailey shot 70% from the field and was an incredible 5-of-7 from three-point land in the breakout performance as the Lady Lions split their two games down at the Cruizin Classic in Fort Lauderdale.
PC trailed by four after the first quarter, but rallied quick to overtake Webster before halftime holding a one-point lead at the intermission after a three-pointer from Bailey with under 30 seconds to play in the 2nd quarter made it 38-37 for the Green and Gold.
Bailey had 11 of her 24 at the break before missing only one shot in the 2nd half taking over offensively for PC who outscored Webster by three in the 3rd and six in the 4th where Bailey did her most effective damage to the Gorlock comeback effort.
After Webster cut the lead to four points with 2:17 to go, Bailey connected on five straight free throws to keep the Gorlocks at bay helping lead Piedmont to the win in the Sunshine State.
Turning Point
--JATASIA BAILEY's three-point and free throw shooting down the stretch as the freshman helped Piedmont seal a 10-point win on the road over the Gorlocks.
Standout Performances
-- JATASIA BAILEY scored a career-high 24 points on an incredible 7-of-10 shooting including 5-of-7 from downtown and from the charity stripe.
-- LE'SHAUNDA JONES also turned in a double-digit scoring performance with 13 points leading the Lady Lions in rebounding with a half dozen.
Inside the Box Score
-- Webster tied the game six times in the 3rd quarter alone pushing Piedmont to the brink, but the Lady Lions would take the lead for good on a BRIDGETTE KELLY three-pointer that put PC in front for the rest of the afternoon.
News & Notes
-- Webster came into today's contest having fallen in two of their last three contests while Piedmont had won three of its last four.
-- Piedmont's bench contbributed 58 points to the 84-74 win over Webster once again outscoring their counterparts, the second straight time in Florida for PC.
Up Next
A tournament at home for the Lady Lions who will bring in Centre College, Hanover College, and Salem College for the two-day, four-game event on December 29 & 30. After Hanover and Salem open up the tourney with a 5:00 pm tip-off on December 29, Piedmont will play Centre at 7:00 pm. The games on the 30th will be determined once the results of the December 29 double-header are known. Both live stats and video will be available for all four games of the Cancer Awareness Tournament hosted by Piedmont in Cave Arena.
