DeLand, Fla. ? Senior point guard Sharnesha Smith (Kingsland, Ga.) scored 18 points with five assists, four rebounds and three steals, but it was not enough to help the Stetson women's basketball team (7-14, 4-8 Atlantic Sun) hold a nine-point lead in the final 7:17 or avoid its fifth straight loss and seventh in the last eight games as the Hatters fell 72-70 to visiting Belmont (13-7, 8-3 A-Sun) Thursday night at the Edmunds Center.
Freshman guard Kelly Ellison (Columbus, Ga.) made a layup shortly after the penultimate media timeout to put Stetson ahead 61-52, but the Bruins responded with a 16-6 run to take their first lead of the second half with 1:44 remaining. When sophomore guard Tierra Brown (Orlando, Fla.) converted a three-point play on the other end to retake the lead 70-68 with 1:20 to go, it seemed to reassert control for the home team, but with 56 seconds to go and the shot clock winding down, Brown fouled Belmont guard Amber Rockwell, fouling herself out of the game.
Rockwell drained both free throws to tie the game, and when a Hatter turnover gave the ball back to the Bruins, it was Bruins guard Kristin Bunch that made the play of the game by driving to the basket for the winning layup with six seconds left. Stetson could not get off more than a desperate heave as the buzzer sounded.
Brown efficiently scored 14 points in just 11 minutes of action while senior center Ayesha Barkley (East Orange, N.J.) also reached double figures with 10 points. Sophomore center Jessica Conner (Cocoa, Fla.) and junior forward Ashli Jackson (Opelika, Ala.) scored seven points each and grabbed nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
Rockwell led all scorers with 23 points while center Jessica Bobbitt proved again why she is one of the most dominating post players in the Atlantic Sun, putting up 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals. Bunch finished with 16 points.
The Hatters will once again attempt to break out of their long funk when they host Lipscomb at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Edmunds Center in the opening act of a doubleheader with the Bisons-Hatters men's game immediately following. Bill Topping and Dee Romine call the action on Hatter Vision, available at www.GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics.
