BANNER ELK, N.C. - Three Valkyries in double-figures and a program-best 10 threes was not enough as the Valkyries had victory taken from their hands in a Conference Carolinas contest on Tuesday evening falling to Lees-McRae 76-68.

Converse was led offensively by Brianna James with 19 points connecting on four triples. Erin Horne went 2-2 from behind the arc on her way to 16 points and four steals.  Paige Johnson chipped in with 10 points hitting two treys.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Converse 68, Lees-McRae 76

RECORDS | Converse 0-3 (0-1), Lees-McRae 1-3 (1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1st Quarter

Converse jumped out to an early 6-2 lead thanks to Bri James with a layup and a three.  Lees-McRae would rally back before Paige Johnson knocked down a three to push the lead to 9-5.

The Valkyries saw their lead swell to eight after Bri James knocked down another triple with two minutes left in the quarter.

Erin Horne would knock down a three with nine seconds left to keep the lead at eight before a Bobcat buzzer beater cut things to 19-14 after 10 minutes of action.

2nd Quarter

Converse would keep the Bobcats at bay for most of the quarter until a Bobcat free throw would cut things to 28-26 with 2:11 remaining in the half.

Shaniqua Brown would convert a three-point play with 41 ticks left to push the Valkyrie lead to 33-27.

A layup and another buzzer beater kept Lees-McRae in the contest heading into the half trailing 33-32.

3rd Quarter

Both teams battled back and forth throughout the quarter as Lees-McRae tied things up at 40-all and took the lead at 42-40 with 6:07 left in the quarter.

Bri James would knock down a three to give the Valkyries the lead again at 43-42 and 46-45.

LMC would take the lead at 48-46 until Jada Black hit a layup followed by Erin Horne's layup giving Converse the lead at 50-48 with under two minutes left in the quarter.

Converse would take a 52-51 lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation.

4th Quarter

Dominique Hill traded threes with the Bobcats with nine minutes left to knot things up at 55-all.

Lees-McRae would take a four point lead but Erin Horne hit a three to cut things to a one point contest.  Horne would hit a jumper followed by a Valkyrie free throw knotted things up once again, 61-61.

Erin Horne's jumper and a Paige Johnson three gave the Valkyries a 66-61 lead midway through the quarter.

With five minutes to go, the Bobcats went on a 15-2 run to take the lead and seal the contest. Converse went 1-12 from the field during the stretch with the lone basket coming from Paige Johnson.

UP NEXT

Converse hosts Southern Wesleyan in a Conference Carolinas battle on November 29 at 7pm.

MILESTONE WATCH

Senior Erin Horne is 11 steals away from tying the career record for most steals in a career.  Horne sits at 136 steals, while current record holder Brandy Williams (2007-2011) has 147.