Second-Half Struggles Plague Scots in Danville

DANVILLE, Ky. - Maryville's Courtney Carruthers continued to showcase her ability as a scorer. She led the Squad with 17 points as MC fell to Centre 75-49.
 
The Scots fought hard in the first half but struggled following the intermission. At the start of the third quarter, the score was 30-27 in Centre's favor, but the Scots were outscored 45-22 in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Some foreshadowing for what would come in the second half, the Colonels opened the scoring with a 9-0 run. Madison Williams stopped the run with a three-pointer to make it 9-3.
 
From there, the two teams went back and forth, with Maryville finally tying the game at 14 on a made free-throw from Carruthers with 2:01 remaining.
 
The Scots then took their first lead of the game with a 1:04 remaining on a jump shot from Ella Haney.
 
In the second quarter, Centre outscored MC 16-11. Maryville came out strong early though, scoring the first five points of the quarter and capping off a 10-3 run with another Williams three-pointer.
 
From that point on it was all Centre. The Colonels would finish out the half on an 11-0 run, taking a two-point lead into the third quarter.
 
The third and fourth quarters were dominant performances for Centre. They held Maryville without a three-pointer (4 attempts) and just 39 percent (9-for-23) from the field. In comparison, the Colonels scored with ease, shooting at a 55 percent clip (15-for-27).
 
Williams was a standout player for the Scots tonight, matching her career-high of 13 points, which she last reached on February 2, 2022, against Wesleyan (Ga.). she accomplished this feat by shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-2 from three. She also led the Scots in rebounds with six.
 
The Scots are now 1-2 on the season. They are back in action on Saturday, taking on Denison on Day 1 of the Transylvania Pat Deacon Classic in Lexington, Kentucky. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.