The Oglethorpe women's basketball team got an outstanding defensive effort Sunday afternoon in Jackson, Mississippi, allowing the homestanding Millsaps Majors to shoot just 29 percent from the field while forcing 23 turnovers. That performance led to a 61-49 road victory, improving the Stormy Petrels to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in SAA play. 

The Petrels held the Majors to just 20 percent from 3-point range, as well, while making an impressive 18 steals as a team. Though the Petrels led by just two, 25-23, at halftime, they outscored Millsaps 36-26 in the second half.

The Petrels got an outstanding performance from freshman forward Karlymarie Dyer, who finished with 14 points on 4-of-7 from the field overall and 2-of-5 from 3-point range, to go with 3 steals and 9 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jada Triplett added 13 points on 3-of-7 from long distance, 2-of-2 from the free throw line, and 4 assists. Sophomore center Alexandria Brown put in 8 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.

The Petrels began the game on a 13-4 run over the opening 3:30, but Millsaps responded with an 8-0 run to make it 13-12 with 2:26 left in the first quarter. They maintained an 18-15 edge at the end of the period. After a low-scoring second quarter, the Petrels still had a 25-23 lead.

The third quarter began with the Petrels pushing out to a 36-25 lead with a 14-4 stretch dating back to late in the first half. An 11-4 run by Millsaps cut the Oglethorpe lead to 40-36 with 8:47 remaining in the contest, but the Petrels responded with a 14-2 run of their own to take a 54-38 advantage with 3:57 remaining. Six consecutive points from Millsaps cut the Petrel advantage to 54-44 with 2:17 to go, but the visitors closed it out from there.

"Road wins are like gold bars, and we certainly earned this one today," said Oglethorpe head coach Alex Richey. "Our intensity was fantastic, and we did a great job executing our game plan. This is always a difficult road trip with two good teams, so we will certainly appreciate a road split. There's a lot of basketball to be played, but I couldn't be more proud of our team for their response today."

The Petrels now return home to host Rhodes and Hendrix on Friday and Sunday, respectively. They'll take on the Lynx Friday evening at 6 p.m. before welcoming the Warriors to Dorough Field House Sunday at noon.