Women's Basketball | 1/19/2013 4:43:00 PM

Box Score RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Methodist women's basketball team had five players score in double figures and the Monarchs forced Meredith College into 32 turnovers in posting a 68-59 on Saturday afternoon at Weatherspoon Gymnasium.
 
Christina Schrader and T.T. Taylor each scored 14 points to lead the Monarchs. Brianna Robinson added 11 points and Emily Huneycutt and Chandler Christensen chipped in 10 points apiece as Methodist improved to 10-5 on the season and 5-3 in the USA South. Meredith fell to 5-9 on the year and 2-6 in conference play.
 
Methodist used a stifling defense to take a 10-point lead (36-26) heading into halftime. MU held Meredith to just 9-of-26 shooting (.346) in the opening half and forced the Avenging Angels into 17 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Tied at 5-5 at the 15:15 mark of the opening period, Huneycutt fueled a 15-4 scoring run for the Monarchs by hitting on three shots from beyond the arc, and Methodist held Meredith to 1-of-6 shooting with three turnovers in taking a 20-9 lead on a Schrader layup with 9:17 left until halftime.
 
The Monarchs' lead would grow to as much as 14 points (23-9) in the opening half, before the Avenging Angels strung together a 10-0 run of their own to pull to within four points (23-19) on a jump shot by McKenzi Edwards with 5:45 on the clock. However, the Monarchs quickly recovered and used an 11-1 run to push its lead back to 14 points (34-20) with 2:03 left. Much of Methodist's scoring was done at the free-throw line as MU made good on 7-of-8 attempts at line during the stretch.
 
In the second half, Meredith began chipping away at the Methodist lead and Danielle Lee pulled the Avenging Angels to within three points (4-41) on a jumper at with 11:34 to play. The Monarchs' lead stood at just four points (57-53) with 4:34 left to play, but MU made 5-of-6 free throws coming down the stretch and Meredith hit on just three of its final eight shots from the floor and turned the ball over four times as Methodist held on for the win.
 
As a team Meredith outshot the Monarchs from the field, making good on 25-of-57 (.439) attempts, while MU was 21-of-56 (.375) from the field. The Avenging Angels also held a 46-33 edge on the glass. Methodist held a decided edge at the free-throw line, making good on 22-of-35 attempts, while Meredith shot just 15 free throws, capitalizing on just seven.
 
Huneycutt, fresh off tying the school record with six made three pointers in a game hit on 3-of-8 from deep. Taylor, who also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds to go with three steals and two assists, finished 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. Iesha Hayes dished out nine assists to go with six points and four rebounds.
 
Edwards led Meredith with a game-high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and added eight boards, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Keyanka Bailey contributed a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while adding four assists and three steals.
 
Methodist returns to the court on Wednesday when it heads back to Raleigh to take on William Peace at 7:00 pm.