The Oglethorpe women's basketball team started off the new year in outstanding fashion Friday night in Birmingham, Alabama. The Stormy Petrels jumped all over the homestanding Birmingham-Southern Panthers in the first half, leading them 37-14 at the break en route to a 65-48 win at Bill Battle Coliseum. The victory improved the Petrels to 11-2 on the year overall and 2-0 in SAA play.
The Petrels outscored the Panthers 23-9 in the first quarter, then continued that run into the second. They scored the first 10 points of the second quarter to extend their lead to 33-9 over the first 12:10 of the game. The visitors led by 23 points at halftime.
Birmingham-Southern outscored Oglethorpe by three points in the third quarter, making it 47-27 with 10 minutes to go, but they were unable to really find their way back into the contest over the course of the second half. The Petrels put it away in the fourth quarter, starting the period on a 12-5 run and taking their largest lead of the game, a 27-point edge, with 5:45 left. The Panthers cut it to 17 down the stretch but it was too little, too late for them.
Sophomore center Savannah LeGate led the Petrels with 12 points on 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. She grabbed eight rebounds, as well. Senior forward Lauren Ransom scored seven points while grabbing eight boards and making four steals. Senior guard Bailey Charles scored nine points on 4-of-5 from the field while making a couple steals, as well.
The Petrels shot 43.9 percent from the field overall and went 8-for-19 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, they held Birmingham-Southern to 34 percent from the field and 5-for-19 from long distance. Oglethorpe outrebounded the Panthers 41-27 and held a 15-6 advantage in second chance points.
"I loved our team's focus tonight," said Oglethorpe head coach Alex Richey. "It's always great to get wins on the road in conference, and I'm excited to see such great balance in scoring throughout our lineup."
The Petrels now continue to Jackson, Mississippi, to go against Millsaps Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. EST. After that, they'll return home to take on Centre and Sewanee on Jan. 11 and 13.