RALEIGH, N.C. -- Kayla Goldsmith recorded a career-high 27 points as the Methodist women's basketball team earned a 72-68 victory against William Peace on Saturday afternoon.
 
Goldsmith's 27 points came off of 12 of 17 shooting from the floor and is the most for a Monarch player since the 2014-15 season and the most for a freshman in the last decade. She also added six rebounds, a block and a steal. Kadie Snipes finished with 15 points, including four threes, while Kodi Centry added 10 points and eight rebounds. Keltsy Hardee recorded a team-high 12 rebounds
 
The win snaps an eight-game losing streak as the Monarchs improve to 2-12 on the year with a 2-4 mark in league play. Meanwhile, the Pacers drop to 2-9 overall behind 2-3 record in conference action.
 
MU trailed by 11 (62-51) with 6:15 left in regulation before embarking on an 14-3 run capped by a Snipes three-pointer to tie the contest. During the run, the Monarchs shot 6 of 7 from the field, including a pair of threes by Snipes, and held the Paces to 1 of 6 shooting.
 
Mikayla Ray split a pair of free throws to give WPU a one point advantage with 1:50 showing on the clock, but five-straight points by the Monarchs gave the visitors a four-point lead (70-66) with just seven seconds remaining. Ray added a layup for the Pacers to bring the game within two, but Lillian Geehring made two shots from the line to seal a victory, 72-68.
 
There was a total of seven lead changes and six ties throughout the game.
 
The Monarchs opened the contest on an 8-3 run that was capped by a layup from Kendrick at the 6:13 mark, which forced a timeout from the Pacers. WPU responded with a run of their own, outscoring the Monarchs 11-3 over the next four and a half minutes before closing the first period with a 16-15 advantage.
 
MU scored the first 10 points of the second quarter with four different players recording a basket, which was capped by a Geehring trey that gave the Monarchs a 25-16 lead with 6:41 left in the half. The Pacers struck back with nine-consecutive points to tie the game at 25-25 in the midst of the 14-3 run that gave the Pacers a two-point advantage (30-28) with under 30 seconds left in the half. A layup by Tyzarea Alexander knotted the game at 30-30 just before halftime.
 
William Peace started the second half on an 11-1 run as it assumed a 10-point lead (40-31) with 8:09 left in the period. The Monarchs worked the deficit down to three points on a trey by Kaneya Chambers at the 2:06 mark before going into the final period down by three (52-49)
 
In addition, Geehring finished with eight points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes off the bench, while Katlin Kendrick led with six assists.
 
For the Pacers, Ray totaled a game-high 29 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the floor and making 9 of 13 free throw attempts. She completed a double-double by pulling down 15 rebounds - also a game high - in addition to six steals. Jayde Grant also finished with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Deja Umstead tallied 12 points.
 
MU shot 41.4 percent (29-70) from the floor, including 64.2 percent (9-14) in the final period. The Pacers shot at a 34.2 percent clip (26-76) in the loss. The Monarchs outrebounded WPU, 55-41,
 
Methodist returns to action tomorrow in Raleigh, North Carolina against Meredith beginning at 2 pm.
 
 
 
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