Box Score
SALISBURY, NC – Freshman Sophie Lepzem scored a career-high 20 points Wednesday as the Livingstone women's basketball team picked up a hard-fought, 68-66, victory over the Queens University Royals inside New Trent Gymnasium.
Lepzem's 20 points and six rebounds came in 24 minutes, her longest stint this season. Montiya Harrison also added 17 points while Jasmine Murray contributed 14. Rashida Elbourne struggled from the field with no points, but did lead the team with seven rebounds.
Queens controlled most of the first half, but the Blue Bears came on strong towards the end. Livingstone led briefly 4-3, but then didn't hold another edge until there were just over five minutes left in the first half. Despite holding an advantage for the majority of the first half, the Royals never amassed more than a six-point lead.
With 7:03 left in the first half, Queens held a six-point edge, but the Blue Bears came on strong with an 11-1 run to take a 27-23 lead with 3:21 on the clock. The Royals were able to get within one at the break, 31-30.
Queens grabbed the first three points of the second half to take a two-point edge, but the Blue Bears battled back in a big way, going on a 14-2 run to take a commanding 45-35 lead with 15:40 remaining. The Royals were far from down and out as they got within three on a 7-0 run, but sophomore Tiffany Evans put an end to that run with a big three-pointer.
Evans' long-range bomb sparked a Livingstone run that saw the Blue Bears go back up by as much as 14 points with 6:22 remaining. Despite the deficit, the Royals had yet another run in them. Queens went on an 18-4 run and tied the game at 65 with 1:04 remaining. In the final minute, Queens was unable to hit a shot from the field and the Blue Bears hit just enough free throws to take the 68-66 victory.
Livingstone shot 35.3 percent from the field but connected on only 2-of-13 three-point attempts. Free throws were also a struggle as the Blue Bears converted only 54.5 percent of their attempts. Livingstone was able to win the rebounding battle 44-41.
The Blue Bears will return to the court on Friday when they head up I-85 to Belmont, NC to take on the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey College at 4 p.m. The Crusaders defeated the Blue Bears 60-50 earlier this season.
