ATLANTA – The No. 8 Millsaps women's basketball team might have gotten knocked down on Saturday, but the Majors responded in a big way on Sunday, defeating No. 4 Oglethorpe in the rematch, 63-48 inside the Dorough Field House.
The Majors beat a top-five program for the first time in school history in the process and ended the Stormy Petrels' 34-game winning streak. The Majors also ended Oglethorpe's 24-game win streak against SAA opponents and a previous unbeaten stretch of 21 games at home.
Millsaps (9-1, 8-1 SAA) put itself back into first place in the Southern Athletic Association standings by a half game over Oglethorpe (7-1, 7-1 SAA) following the weekend split. Though tiebreakers may need to be followed if the teams finish the regular season with an unequal number of games once the regular season concludes to determine the conference champion(s) and who will likely host the SAA tournament.
"I'm so proud of this group," said Millsaps women's basketball coach Justin LeBlanc following the win. "We had a tough week in Jackson with the weather, only a few hours of practice all week and had players out with injuries. They could have used any excuse out there, but they didn't. They stay connected and found a way. I'm so happy for them and they earned this win."
The Stormy Petrels were held to 3-for-27 shooting from 3-point range on Sunday.
Oglethorpe athletics photo
On Sunday, the Majors defense was unrelenting as the Stormy Petrels only knocked down 20.3 percent of their shots (16-for-79 shooting) and connected on just 11.1 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 27).
Millsaps in turn was highly efficient offensively, shooting 43.9 percent from the field (18 of 41), including a near identical 43.8 percent from three-point range (7 of 16). The Majors were able to overcome 36 turnovers, while grabbing 21 steals themselves. Oglethorpe was able to convert their steals into just 19 points.
Sophomore guard Briasha King had a great game off the bench, netting a career-high 20 points, while adding six rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Seniors Dia Fortenberry and Taelor Manning were forces on both sides of the court as well. Fortenberry tallied 15 points, eight boards, three steals and two assists. Manning added 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
Tied 10-10 entering the second quarter, a pair of King 3-pointers and a three-point play gave the Majors breathing room heading in the half, up 28-24.
The game remained close deep into the third until both Manning and King connected on a pair of long-range shots. King again added another trey to put Millsaps up 48-36 with 8:24 to play in the fourth quarter. Manning would add a pair of free throws to make it an 11-2 run.
The Majors would finish the fourth highly effective from the free-throw line (11 of 14) to put the game out of reach and secure the 63-48 win.
Millsaps is scheduled to remain on the road next weekend and travel to face Birmingham-Southern, Feb. 27-28. Saturday's game will tip at 4 p.m. CT and Sunday's contest will begin at 1 p.m. Live video and stats links will be available on the women's basketball schedule page at gomajors.com.
From Millsaps news release.
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