Rock Hill, S.C. - The Stetson women's basketball team used a pair of second half spurts to seize permanent control as the Hatters (3-1) defeated Bradley 73-63 in the second game of the Winthrop Classic at Winthrop Coliseum Saturday afternoon. Junior guard Victoria McGowan (Inkster, Mich.) led Stetson with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists while freshman forward Cherisse Burris (Blue Springs, Mo.) scored a career-high 16 points.
The Hatters played from behind for much of the first half, going down by as many as nine points with 12:45 left in the half. Stetson would pick up the pace on offense and score 24 of the next 37points to take a 31-29 lead with 2:04 left on a pair of McGowan free throws. Eventually the Braves would fight back ahead, using a Katie Yohn three-pointer at the 1:11 mark to take a 36-33 lead into the locker room.
Burris had nine first half points to lead Stetson while Bradley was paced by center Leah Kassing's 10 points and eight rebounds before intermission.
Stetson roared out of the gate in the second half with seven unanswered points to force a Bradley timeout and take the lead; the game then fell into a pattern where the Braves would rally back to tie and the Hatters would push back ahead without ever falling behind on the scoreboard again.
Bradley tied the game for the last time 47-47 with 9:56 to play, but Burris answered on the other end with a three-point play, starting another 7-0 run that kept the Braves at arm's length. When MacKenzie Westcott brought Bradley within 56-53 at the 6:47 mark, Stetson slammed the door with an 11-1 spurt over the ensuing two and a half minutes for its first double-digit lead, getting scoring from four different players in that streak. The Braves never got closer than seven points the rest of the way even though the Hatters did not sink a field goal in the final 4:33.
McGowan made six of 10 from the floor and Burris six of 12 en route to their team scoring highs; they were joined in double figures by sophomore forward Sasha Sims (Fayetteville, Ga.) with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double and junior guard Shanasa Sanders (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 10 points and three assists. Freshman guard Jama Sharp (Mooresville, Ind.) had her finest game to date in a Stetson uniform, scoring nine points off the bench.
Kassing finished with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead Bradley, which also got 10 points apiece from Westcott and Kelsey Budd.
The Hatters and Winthrop, which beat Niagara 82-47 in the second game of the day, will play for the Winthrop Classic championship at 3:00 pm Sunday. Live Stats and Bill Topping's Hatter Vision audio are available at GoHatters.com.
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