Fayetteville, N.C. - The North Carolina Wesleyan women's basketball team saw its 2011-2012 season come to an end on Tuesday night as the Battling Bishops fell at Methodist University by a 70-60 score in the first round of the USA South Conference Tournament. Wesleyan completes its most successful season in nearly a decade with a 12-12 overall record.
The 4th-seeded Monarchs and 5th-seeded Bishops both struggled from the floor in the first half, but thanks to a 14-of-21 showing at the charity stripe, Methodist was able to forge a 30-21 advantage at the break.
In the second half, the Monarchs went up by 13, 39-26, with 14:50 remaining only to see Wesleyan put together a 16-4 run that pulled the Bishops to within one with ten minutes left. Seven different players tallied scores during the rally, which featured three-pointers by freshman NeTaih Davis and sophomore A'leisha Henderson.
The 6:35 mark once again found the Monarchs up one, 51-50, but the ensuing 13-2 MU run would prove too much for the Bishops to overcome down the stretch as Wesleyan got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Henderson paced NCWC with a team-high 12 points, while sophomore Monet Edwards finished with 11. Junior Samantha Urquhart chipped in eight, and Davis pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
Methodist was led by Jackie Lyles' double-double of 19 points and 15 boards.