GREENSBORO, N.C. — In the second of two USA South games on the road this weekend, the Piedmont College women's basketball team fell to the defending USA South Tournament Champion Pride of Greensboro College by a slim 67-65 margin Sunday afternoon.
The loss snaps a 14-game winning streak for the Lady Lions, tied for the best in the program's NCAA Era, and puts the Lady Lions at now 13-1 in USA South play tied with Maryville in the loss column. The Scots await PC in Tennessee this coming Wednesday for a key conference showdown with the right to host the USA South Championship Tournament likely on the line.
Piedmont led by 18 in the second quarter with better than six minutes to play before the halftime break, but the Lady Lions would not score again in the period with Greensboro going on a 10-0 run to narrow the gap capped by a three-pointer with time expiring in the second quarter.
The Pride continued to climb closer before a Dakota Sullens lay-up to end the third made it a four-point lead for Piedmont heading into the 4th quarter. The Lady Lions owned a 56-53 lead with 6:48 to go, but again hit a dry spell offensively allowing Greensboro to go on a 11-1 run over the next five-plus minutes as the Pride took control at home late.
Piedmont's Erin Clifford hit a pair of three's in the final 36 seconds of regulation to give Piedmont a chance down the stretch as Greensboro's Marlow Crawford was on the line with a one-point lead in hand. Missing the first of two, Crawford hit the second to make the lead two with Piedmont in-bounding as just over four seconds remained, but the Lady Lions could not get a shot off to tie the contest falling to the Pride in their home gym by two, 67-65.
Piedmont travels to Maryville College on Wednesday evening for a key match-up in USA South play as the Lady Lions are still battling for the right to host the USA South Championship Tournament. The winner of the league's regular season title owns the right to do so. Tip-off in the mid-week match-up against the Scots is set for 5:30 pm in Tennessee.
