The Oglethorpe women's basketball team played a solid all-around game Saturday night to pick up their 20th victory of the season and defeat in-state opponent Berry 62-41 at Dorough Field House. It marked the second straight season in which the Stormy Petrels attained 20 wins, and the victory came on Senior Night. It also secured second place in the SAA for the Petrels with an 11-3 league mark.
The program honored the careers of forward Lauren Ransom and guards Bailey Charles, Brooke Simpson, Jada Triplett and Clarissa Hopkins prior to the game, then got down to business and pulled away from the visiting Vikings, especially in the fourth quarter. Ransom finished the game with 22 points on 6-of-10 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line, throwing in 12 rebounds to give her a double double. She also recorded two blocks and two steals. Triplett threw in 10 points for the Petrels, as well, while Simpson added six rebounds and four assists.
The two teams were tied 6-6 early in the first quarter, but the Petrels scored the next five points and took a 13-8 lead into the second quarter. A 7-1 Oglethorpe run early in the second period extended their lead to 20-11 at the 7:05 mark. Berry quickly cut it to five, but the Petrels pushed it back out to eight, 30-22, at the halftime break.
In the second half, the Petrels slowly expanded their lead. They went on a 13-2 run over 4:10 to stretch their lead to 43-25 with 3:45 on the clock in the third quarter. The visitors finished the quarter on a 10-2 run, though, tightening the scoreline to 45-35 with 10 minutes left.
However, the fourth quarter was all Petrels. They outscored Berry 17-6 over the period and cruised to a 21-point win.
The Petrels shot 36.8 percent from the field, but held the Vikings to just 22.6 percent shooting. Oglethorpe also hit 80 percent of their free throws while Berry came in at just 54.5 percent. The home side outrebounded the Vikings 44-34.
"That game couldn't have fit the Senior Night script any better," said Oglethorpe head coach Alex Richey. "It was a total team effort from all of our group. These seniors have left an incredible legacy already, but we are going to squeeze every moment that we can with them for as long as we can going forward."
The Petrels next head to Jackson, Mississippi, where they'll play for the SAA championship Feb. 22-24. The Petrels hold the No. 2 seed in the SAA Tournament, and will take on seventh-seeded Sewanee in the first round on Friday at a time to be determined.