FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist women's basketball fell short of an upset as No. 20 Maryville rallied for a 53-48 win over the Monarchs on Monday night at the Riddle Center.
 
The Monarchs (2-12, 2-6 USA South) used a 15-0 run over a nearly five-and-a-half-minute stretch of the second half to move from down four (35-31) to up 11 points (46-35) with six minutes to play. Methodist used a stifling defense that held the 20th ranked Scots (16-1, 8-0 USA South) to 0-for-6 shooting with three turnovers during the stretch to position itself for the upset.
 
Sydney Bryan started the run with a pair of layups sandwiched around two free throws by Alexis Wallace that gave the Monarchs a 37-35 lead by the 9:29 mark. Jasmine Canady and Wylonda Surles took advantage of back-to-back turnovers by MC's Lauren Trent to convert in transition as MU's lead grew to 41-35 with just under eight minutes left on the clock. Wallace added a jumper and three points from Jalisia Campbell left the Monarchs holding an 11-point lead (46-35) with 6:00 showing on the clock.
 
From there, the Scots would close the game on an 18-2 spurt that allowed them to escape the upset bid. The Monarchs were unable to connect on any of their final four shots from the floor and turned the ball over six times after Canady's bucket at the 4:39 mark made it 48-40 in favor of MU.
 
Following Canady's basket with 4:39 to play, Mindy Brackins converted a triple and a three-point play that made it 48-46 in favor of MU with 3:06 left. Neither team manage to score until the clock fell below two minutes remaining as Rachel Hawn knocked down a jumper that tied the game at 48-48. An Alex Bond lay with 1:06 showing gave MC a 50-48 lead and Jordan Ballard converted 3-of-4 free throws over the final minute to seal the win.
 
The first half was a sluggish 20 minutes that saw both teams shoot under 35.0 percent as the score was deadlocked at 22-22 going to the break. The Monarchs held an early five-point lead (13-8) after a shot from distance by Wallace, but MC answered with a 12-3 run that gave the Scots a 20-16 lead at the 4:51 mark on a three by Brackins  before the Monarchs closed the period on a 6-2 burst to hit the locker room tied at 22-22.
 
For the game, Methodist outshot the nationally-ranked Scots (.365-.328) and held a 39-37 edge in rebounding. However, MU turned the ball over 19 times to MC's 14, and the Scots were 9-of-10 from the line while MU shot just 7-of-14 from the charity stripe.
 
Bryan led MU with 10 points to go with four boards and three blocks. Campbell had seven points and 11 rebounds, while Canady finished with nine points, five assists, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
 
The Scots were paced by Hawn's 16 points and six rebounds, while Brackins had 14 points. Bond chipped in five points and six rebounds to go with a pair of assists.
 
Methodist is back in action on Wednesday when it hosts N.C. Wesleyan at 7:30 pm.