The Oglethorpe women's basketball team, ranked 11th in the coaches' poll and 19th in the D3hoops.com ranking, led nearly from beginning to end Sunday afternoon en route to an 84-43 blowout of the Birmingham-Southern Panthers at Bill Battle Coliseum in Birmingham, Alabama. The Stormy Petrels led by as many as 47 points en route to the win, shooting 46.8 percent from the field and making 23 free throws.

Oglethorpe outrebounded the Panthers 53-25 overall and 21-7 on the offensive glass, allowing them to outscore Birmingham-Southern 14-4 in second chance points. Junior center Savannah LeGate scored 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and passed out four assists. Junior guard Taylor Smith led the team with 18 points on 6-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the foul line, while junior forward Audrey Burdge pitched in 10 points on 8-of-10 from the line, six rebounds, and three steals.

After the Panthers took an early 3-1 lead for their lone advantage of the contest, Oglethorpe went on a 17-2 run over 6:30 to take an 18-5 lead with 1:55 left in the period. They led 20-7 after the opening 10 minutes.

The visitors continued to push their advantage, outscoring Birmingham-Southern 20-5 in the second quarter to take a 40-12 lead into the halftime break. Bridging from the first quarter, the Petrels went on a 39-7 stretch over 15:55.

Birmingham-Southern cut it to a 17-point game early in the third quarter and traded baskets with the Petrels for the first 5 minutes of the period, but Oglethorpe erased all that with a 17-0 run over the latter half of the period. They took a commanding 68-24 advantage into the final quarter and cruised home from there.

With the win, Oglethorpe extended their program-best starts to a season and a conference campaign, improving to 19-1 overall and 9-0 in SAA action. They'll head back out on the road Friday, when they travel to Conway, Arkansas, to take on Hendrix at 7 p.m. Eastern.