DeLand, Fla. - The Stetson women's basketball team improved to 10-3 on the season with a 70-55 triumph over former Atlantic Sun Conference rival Campbell (6-4) in the opening game of the Hatter Classic Tuesday afternoon at the Edmunds Center. Junior guard Shanasa Sanders (Jacksonville, Fla.) scored 18 points to lead the Hatters, who won their fourth straight overall, ninth in a row at home and reached the 10-win mark before New Year's Day for the first time in program history.
The first half was a give-and-take affair with Sanders hitting a three-pointer 4:12 into the contest that erased what would prove to be Stetson's last deficit of the day and gave the Hatters a two-point lead. The Hatters went up by as many as six points on several different first half occasions, but needed a last burst just to take a 32-28 lead over the Lady Camels into the locker room. Sanders scored 12 points in the first 20 minutes.
Campbell refused to go down quietly in the second half, cutting the Hatter advantage to just two points with 17:29 to play, but a 7-1 Stetson run immediately thereafter would be enough to keep the Lady Camels at least two possessions behind for the final 15:10 of regulation.
The Lady Camels made one last run at Stetson, getting a Tonisha Baker jumper and then a Kate Cloxton three-pointer with 2:41 to play to come within six (61-55); however the Hatters threw the hammer down with a game-ending 9-0 scoring run, featuring a three-pointer by freshman guard Clarissa Coddington (Davie, Fla.) at the 1:27 mark that made it an 11-point ballgame and essentially put CU's rally hopes to sleep. The Hatters converted on their last nine free throw attempts down the stretch to seal matters.
Sanders added a career-high five assists and four rebounds to her 18 points with junior guard Victoria McGowan (Inkster, Mich.) adding 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Freshman forward Cherisse Burris (Blue Springs, Mo.) made all three of her field goal attempts and all four of her free throws to finish with 10 points while sophomore forward Sasha Sims (Fayetteville, Ga.) scored seven points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds.
Katelyn Bass led three Lady Camels in double figures with 12 points; Jazmine Cooper tallied 11 points and eight rebounds while Cloxton contributed 10 points and a game-high six assists. Stetson won the rebounding battle 42-36 and committed just 11 turnovers to Campbell's 18.
In the nightcap of the first day's Hatter Classic action, Florida Atlantic topped Bethune-Cookman 71-70 in a triple overtime thriller. Stetson will face FAU at 3:00 pm tomorrow to conclude the tournament; B-CU will take on Campbell at 1:00 pm beforehand. Live Stats for both games and Hatter Vision for the Hatters-Owls clash will be available at GoHatters.com.
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