SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Playing in the season finale, the Converse College basketball team suffered a tough 80-59 loss at the hands of Barton on Tuesday evening inside the Weisiger Center. The Bulldogs used a series of runs throughout the contest to pull out the Conference Carolinas win. 

GAME INFORMATION

Score: Barton 80, Converse 59

Records: Barton (22-5, 19-3 CC), Converse (4-27, 3-19 CC)

Location: Hannah Gymnasium, Converse College, Spartanburg, S.C. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Ellen Nardella led the Valkyries with 11 points, while Dominique Hill posted nine in the loss.
• Alexis McMillian and Ashley Sides contributed eight points each.
• Sierra Davenport hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with four points and two blocks.
• Shanika Peterkin led all scorers with 32 points on 13-of-19 from the floor for the Bulldogs.
• Barton held a slim 48-46 rebounding margin. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

Following consecutive empty possessions to open the game for Converse, Lindsey Hardin finally put the Valkyries on the board with a jumper at the 8:20 mark of the first quarter. However, Barton came back strong with 10 in a row to take a 10-2 lead with just under six minutes left on the clock. 

A beautiful back door cut and layup by Ashley Sides sparked a mini 5-0 run for the Purple and Gold, cutting the deficit to 10-7. Barton tallied six in a row and 15 of 19 to take a comfortable 25-11 lead into the second period of play. 

Second Quarter

Bhrianna Jackson connected on a layup to begin the second, igniting a 9-3 burst for the Valkyries, allowing Converse to trim the score to 28-20 with 6:24 left in the first half. From that point, Barton began to assert itself inside, scoring on multiple possessions over the course of five-plus minutes of game action. 

A layup by Tayah Doss extended the lead to 50-25 for the Bulldogs, but Anna King was able to score the final basket of the half, sending Converse to the locker room trailing by 23 (50-27). 

Third Quarter

Barton scored the first four points of the second half, pushing the advantage to 54-27, but a three-pointer by Hardin helped the Valkyries to a 7-1 run early in the second half. However, Barton seized complete control of the period with a burst of 11-4, ballooning the lead to its largest, 66-38. 

The next six points belonged to the Valkryies, but Barton tallied back-to-back scores to take a 70-44 lead into the final period. 

Fourth Quarter

Converse made one last push in the fourth, reeling off 15-of-24, closing the gap to 76-59. During the run, Sides was able to knock down a pair of shots from deep. Unfortunately, that was as close as the score would get with Barton collecting the final four points of an 80-59 victory.