Women's Basketball | 12/3/2013 10:23:00 PM

Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Methodist women's basketball team overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to top visiting Lynchburg, 64-61, on Tuesday evening at the Riddle Center.
 
Chandler Christensen and Jackie Lyles teamed up on a give-and-go layup that proved to be the decisive bucket with 21 seconds left to play as Methodist took a 62-61 lead. Maya Banks sealed the victory with two free throws with under five seconds to play that pushed MU's advantage to three (64-61). In the contest's final moments, Lynchburg was unable to get off a game-tying shot.
 
In the first half, MU's (4-1) Jalisia Campbell knotted the game (16-16) with two makes from the charity stripe with 7:12 on the clock, but LC (2-4) surged ahead on the strength of a 12-6 run, exiting the court with the upper hand at intermission (31-25). In closing out those seven-plus minutes, the Hornets made 6-of-11 shots from the floor and held the Monarchs to 2-of-9 shooting while forcing four turnovers.
 
LC used a lightning-fast start in the first two minutes of the second half, scoring seven unanswered points to take a 38-25 lead. Two Caleigh Patterson layups and a Chaney Forbush three-pointer gave Lynchburg its largest lead of the night. Trailing by 13 points at the 17:13 mark, Methodist reclaimed the edge on an Ayanna Pegues layup with 4:13 remaining (56-55). Over those 13 minutes, MU outscored LC by a 28-14 margin as the Monarchs knocked down 11-of-22 of their field goals and limited the Hornets to 7-of-18 shooting in addition to causing 11 turnovers. But LC recovered, regaining the lead (59-56) after layups by Patterson and Shannon Allan at the 3:33 mark. Lyles appeared to make a game-changing play with just over a minute remaining, driving to the hoop, drawing contact and laying the ball in to return the lead to Methodist (60-59). However, Lyles did not complete the three-point play, and on Lynchburg's ensuing possession two Forbush free throws would switch the lead back to the Hornets with 0:35 left (61-60), setting up the dramatic finish.
 
For the evening, both teams struggled from the floor, with MU connecting on 37.3 percent (22-59) of its shots while LC hit on 38.2 percent of its field goals (26-68). The Monarchs shot 66.7 percent from the free throw line (16-24) compared 45.5 percent (5-11) for the Hornets. Lynchburg outrebounded Methodist, 49-35, but committed five more turnovers than MU (21-16).
 
Banks scored a game-high 16 points for MU, and Lyles had 11 points and four rebounds. Pegues totaled 10 points and five boards, and Christensen chipped in seven points, five rebounds and four blocks.
 
Sammi Goldsmith paced LC with 15 points and also had seven rebounds and three assists. Allan finished with 11 points, 10 boards, three assists and two steals, and Forbush put up 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
 
Methodist will return to the hardwood next month when it plays host to LaGrange on Jan. 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm.