Thursday, February 02, 2012

BLUEFIELD, W.Va.—Junior Amanda Peoples scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half and the Alderson-Broaddus Lady Battlers overcame a 17 point halftime deficit to earn a hard-fought victory over the Bluefield State Lady Blues Wednesday evening.

A-B (6-13, 4-11 WVIAC) found itself in an early hold, managing just one field goal in the first 9:52 as Bluefield State (4-17, 3-12) jumped out to an early 18-3 lead. The struggles continued for the Lady Battlers in the first half, as they shot just 13 percent from the floor (4-32) and trailed 30-13 going into the locker room. Charlene Diggs led the way for the Lady Blues in the first half with 12 points while Shae Mebane added 10. No Lady Battler scored more than four points in the first half.

Bluefield State maintained their lead early in the second half, leading by 15 when A-B coach Josh Allen called a timeout at the 13:37 mark. The Lady Battlers came out of the timeout on a 18-4 run, keyed by nine points off the bench from Leah Hurst. In total, A-B outscored the Lady Blues 30-9 after the timeout en route to the big come-from-behind victory.

Peoples hit 6 for 7 from the floor in the second half, including a perfect 4 for 4 from three, while Hurst scored 11 of her 14. As a team, the Lady Battlers shot 50 percent from the floor and 64 percent (7-11) from long distance after halftime. Mebane finished the game with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead Bluefield State, while Diggs finished with 15. 

The Lady Battlers will look to build off the victory when they host West Virginia State in WVIAC action Saturday evening at 5:15.