Spartanburg, SC – In what was the first of 2 straight games this week against Lees-McRae University, the Converse College Women's Basketball team would start the 2-game series at home in the friendly confines of Hannah Gymnasium.  The Valkyries had not played a home game since January 25^th and they were looking forward to putting back on the home gold uniforms.  After winning 2 in a row, Converse had dropped their last two games and were aiming to get back to their winning ways.  Unfortunately, the Bobcats were standing in the way, who had won 2 of their last 3 games.

The first quarter was back and forth, with both teams staying close the entire 10 minutes.  Jordan Brown got things started for the Valkyries, however, Lees-McRae quickly answered with a 3-pointer to take a 3-2 lead.  After another basket from the Bobcats, Lindsey Hardin tied things up at 5-5, with Converse's first 3 of the game.  The Valkyries would go up by as much as 5 points, but eventually fell behind, 10-9.  With a minute left in the quarter, Converse went on a 6-2 run to take a 12 lead, as the quarter ended.

Lees-McRae began the second quarter on a 10-2 run, to take the lead 22-17.  Free throws from Tierney Porter stopped the run and cut the lead to 3 points, but the Bobcats quickly found themselves with an 11-point lead, with 2:58 remaining in the half.  Unfortunately, the Valkyries were unable to cut the lead to less then 9, and as the teams went to the locker room, Converse would trail Lees-McRae by a score of 31-21. 

Lindsey Hardin started off the 3^rd quarter with a layup in the paint to cut into the lead 31-23, but the Bobcats put together their biggest run of the game (12-3) to take their largest lead so far, 43-26.  Lees-McRae eventually would go up by 20 points, until a basket by Keyshuna Fair jump started the Valkyries.  This combined with solid free throw shooting, saw Converse end the quarter on a 13-5 run, to pull within 12 points, 53-41.

The fourth quarter saw Keyshuna Fair and Jordan Brown continue to bring he Valkyries back in the game.  After a 3-pointer by Lindsey Hardin, with 6:10 remaining, the Bobcat lead was cut to just 5points, 58-53.  Once again, Lees-McRae would go on a run (8-0) and shut down Converse's momentum.  A 3-pointer by Keyshuna Fair and one by Eva Carballo, kept the Valkyries close, but in the end, they were unable to get any closer and would eventually fall to the Bobcats, 74-64.

Converse was led by Keyshuna Fair with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Lindsey Hardin chipped in with 15 points and 4 rebounds, while Jordan Brown added 10 points to go along with her 5 rebounds.  The Valkyries will once again play Lees-McRae on Thursday, but this time Game 2 will be played in Banner Elk, NC.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm and can be seen live on the Conference Carolinas Digital Network.