SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Behind a career day on the glass from senior Amaia Parkins and a 22-point performance from fellow senior Elisa Solé Sanchez, the Converse University women's basketball (9-17, 7-12 Conference Carolinas) cruised to a 70-49 senior-day victory over the Erskine Flying Fleet (5-20, 3-16 Conference Carolinas) Saturday at the Weisiger Center on the campus of Converse University.

Solé Sanchez led all players with 22 points, more than double Erskine's top scorer. Two other Valkyries, junior Alexis Becker and senior Zariyah Washington also tallied more than the Flying Fleet's top scorer with 13 and 12 points respectively. Parkins' 17 rebounds is the third-highest single-game total in program history. She also more than doubled the Fleet's leader in the statistic.

Just nine seconds into the game, Solé Sanchez sank the game's first basket and the Valkyries never looked back. Erskine trailed the entire remaining 39 minutes and 51 seconds. Converse's largest lead of the quarter came with 7:42 remaining as Converse led 9-2. The Valkyries took a 19-14 lead into the second quarter.

Both teams struggled from the floor in the second quarter as Erskine inched ever so closer to the Valkyries. Converse's largest lead of the quarter was once again seven points. The Valkyries took a 30-27 lead into halftime.

Not content to just be leading, the Valkyries' offense and defense synergized outpacing Erskine by 10 in the first act of the second half. Converse shot 34.8% from the field and held Erskine under 20% with 18.2%, just two field goals on 11 attempts in the quarter. The Valkyries also went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and led 49-36 heading into the game's final 10 minutes.

Erskine improved slightly from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, but not as much as the Valkyries did. Converse tallied 21 points and allowed just 13 from the Fleet. With just over a minute to play, Converse held its largest lead of the day, 26 points. At the next dead-ball stoppage, Converse emptied the bench and let the clock expire on the 70-49 senior-day victory 

With their 2024-25 home slate finished, the Valkyries compete one more time this regular season as they head to Bristol, Tennessee to take on the King University Tornado. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 P.M. The Conference Carolinas women's basketball championship begins on Sunday, March 2 at campus sites.

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