Women's Basketball | 11/16/2013 8:41:00 PM

Box Score ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - The Methodist women's basketball team opened its season in the Jean Edge Classic and fell to Case Western, 55-43, on Saturday evening.
 
The Monarchs (0-1) missed 17 of their first 20 field goals to begin the game, but the Spartans (1-0) struggled as well, hitting just three out of their first 10 field goal attempts, allowing the Monarchs to stay within six points as Alexis Wallace made a layup at the 7:04 mark (12-6). Methodist got as close as four points to the Spartans when Christensen converted a three-point play at the 1:56 mark (15-11). By the time the buzzer sounded, the teams exited the court with CWRU ahead by a 19-13 margin.
 
In the first half, Methodist shot 21.4 percent (6-28) and turned the ball over 13 times. Additionally, the Spartans shot 26.7 percent (8-30) from the floor and held a 31-17 advantage in terms of rebounds
 
MU began the second half by trimming its deficit to as few as four points (23-19) as Jackie Lyles hit a jumper at the 16:52 mark. However, over the next six-and-a-half minutes, Case Western would rattle off a 17-2 run to grab its largest lead of the night, a 19-point advantage (40-21), by the 10:03 mark. During this stretch, the Spartans upped their shooting percentage to 38.5 percent (5-13) from the field. Conversely the Monarchs hit one out of 13 shots in this same span.
 
Methodist turned in a 9-4 run to whittle away at the Spartans' advantage, coming to within 12 points of them (44-32) as Christensen converted a layup at the 5:51 mark. Another small run by the Monarchs brought them to as close as eight points as Lyles drained two free throws with 41 seconds remaining. In the end, CWRU held on and closed out the night with the final four points.
 
After turning the ball over 13 times in the first half, MU had five giveaways in the second period. Overall Methodist won the turnover battle, 26-18, and scored 18 points off those Case Western miscues. Additionally the Monarchs improved their shooting percentage from 21.4 percent in the first half (6-28) to 31.4 percent (11-35) in the second period. Ultimately the Spartans' 61-35 advantage on the boards proved too tough for the Monarchs to overcome.
 
Playing in her first game since the 2011-12 season, MU's Lyles scored a team-high 11 points, and Christensen chipped in 10 points. Lyles also had five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Ayanna Pegues finished with seven points and five rebounds, and Jalisia Campbell grabbed a team-best six rebounds.
 
Case Western had two players finish with double-double performances in Laura Mummey (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Berit Eppard (10 points, 12 rebounds). Brooke Orcutt contributed eight points, nine rebounds and five assists.
 
Methodist will close out its competition at the Jean Edge Classic when it matches up with Wesley on Sunday at 3:30 pm.