February 20, 2007
Lady Monarchs' Rally Falls Short in 66-62 Loss to Shenandoah
Junior Ashley Harris leads all scorers with 20 points

WINCHESTER, VA- The Methodist women's basketball team was seeded fifth in the USA South Tournament forcing a trip back to Shenandoah on Tuesday after a tough loss Saturday afternoon.  The Lady Monarchs hoped to rebound, but came up short in the 66-62 loss.  Methodist ends the season 13-13 overall and 7-7 in the USA South while Shenandoah moves to 17-8 overall and 9-5 in the conference.

The Shenandoah Hornets led by as many as thirteen in the first half before the Lady Monarchs went on a 18-6 run to close the lead to one with 4:10 remaining in the half.  Shenandoah responded with a run of their own to take a 37-31 lead at halftime.

The Hornets came out firing in the second half, but head coach DeeDee Jarman called a timeout to stop the run and prevent a repeat of Saturday's second half letdown.  The Lady Monarchs came back and tied the game at 49 on a three-pointer by junior Ashley Harris with 10:11 to go in the game.  For the final ten minutes, no one led by more than five point as the two teams exchanged baskets.  Methodist took a two point lead on a three-pointer by junior Courtney Bissette with 3:07 left, before Shenandoah's Alicia Sanders tied it at 58 on the next possession.  Shenandoah took a five point lead with 40 seconds on the clock before Harris drained another three to move within two.  The Lady Monarchs fouled on the Shenandoah possession sending Shenandoah's free throw record holder Sanders back to the line who missed both.  The Monarchs turned the ball over giving it back to Shenandoah.  It looked like Harris had a steal and was on the verge of tying the game when one of the officials called an off the ball foul to send Katherine Flint to the line for the Hornets.  Flint hit both free throws to give Shenandoah the 66-62 win.

Harris led Methodist with 20 points while sophomore Kristen Whitehurst scored 11 points and senior Stacy Williams scored 9 points and led the team with 9 rebounds.  Williams finishes her career at Methodist ranked fourth on the all-time scoring list with 1,139 points.

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