The Oglethorpe women's basketball team quickly jumped out to a big lead and never looked back Tuesday night in Decatur, blowing out the homestanding Agnes Scott Scotties 70-28 to improve to 2-0 on the young season. The Stormy Petrels outscored Agnes Scott 21-5 in the first quarter and 26-6 in the second, giving themselves a 47-11 lead at the halftime break and allowing them to cruise to the 42-point victory.
The Petrels forced 34 Agnes Scott turnovers, including 24 in the first half. They scored 39 points off those takeaways while the Scotties scored just four off of Oglethorpe's 16 giveaways. Oglethorpe outscored Agnes Scott 39-11 off the bench, 22-12 in the paint and 17-11 in second chance points while outrebounding them 54-41. That latter mark included a 27-14 advantage on the offensive glass for the Petrels.
Oglethorpe's defensive pressure was relentless in the opening half of play. They got out to a 7-0 advantage over the opening two minutes, then continued to push their advantage with a 14-2 run over the remainder of the first quarter. The Petrels continued to cause turnovers with their press in the second period. They turned Agnes Scott over 11 times in the second quarter after forcing 13 in the first. They continued their run from the first quarter, as well. They began the period with eight consecutive points, extending their run to 22-2 over nine minutes of play. After a couple of Scottie baskets, the Petrels embarked on an 18-2 run over the final five minutes of the period.
The Petrels outscored the Scotties 23-17 in the second half and got minutes for a wide variety of players over the final 20 minutes. Oglethorpe got all 20 players who dressed into the contest, and 10 players logged double-digit minutes.
Freshman center Savannah LeGate led the Petrels on the evening with 12 points on 4-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. She also grabbed 7 rebounds on the night. Junior guard Bailey Charles finished with 10 points on 3-of-5 from the floor overall, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 from the foul line, while contributing a team-high 5 assists. Junior center Alex Brown led the squad with 9 rebounds and also poured in 8 points. Sophomore forward Karlymarie Dyer and sophomore guard Taylor Dodson tied for the team lead with 4 steals apiece.
"Our defensive intensity just dictated play in the first half, allowing us to build a comfortable margin," said Oglethorpe head coach Alex Richey. "That's exactly the kind of defensive pressure we want to see. We were able to get a lot of players in the game in the second half, as well, allowing them to get some minutes, which can only help them down the line. We've got our first big tests of the season Saturday and Sunday against Piedmont and LaGrange, so it's important for us to move our focus forward into the next challenge and to prepare for those big games. I'm also glad this team is able to get a bit of a breather for the Thanksgiving holiday, and will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends."
The Petrels will get back to action Saturday at 2 p.m., when they travel to Mount Berry to take on Piedmont in the SAA-USA South Classic. They'll head back to Berry's Cage Center on Sunday, when they complete their stay at the SAA-USA South Classic when they battle LaGrange at 2 p.m.