MARYVILLE, Tenn. – Senior captain Jahpera McEachin scored a game-high 26 points and sophomore guard Gracie Brunel corralled a career and team-best 10 rebounds for the LaGrange College women's basketball team during an 80-60 setback at Maryville in the first round of the USA South West Division tournament Wednesday.
McEachin scored 25 or more points for the fifth time this season. She finished with eight rebounds and three assists for the third-seeded Panthers (8-4, 8-3 USA South). The Federal Way, Washington, native played 38 minutes and shot 9 of 20 from the field.
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Brunel filled up the box score with five points and four assists, alongside her phenomenal work on the glass. Sophomore forward Morgan Grant finished with eight points, four rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes off the bench. She shot 4 for 4 from the field.
"Congratulations to Maryville for winning and moving on to the West Division championship game," said LaGrange College women's basketball head coach Jasen Jonus. "We played the Scots three times this year and they are quite a team. Words cannot express how proud I am of my team, not only today, but throughout the entire season. These student-athletes bought into our new system and were willing to alter their games for the betterment of the team. This loss stings, but the future is incredibly bright for LaGrange College women's basketball."
The second-seeded Scots (11-2, 10-2 USA South) were led by Shelby Hix (21 points), Klaire Varney (21 points) and Kelley Wandell (15 points, 13 rebounds). Maryville will play top-seeded Piedmont in the West Division championship game Sunday at 1 p.m. in Demorest, Georgia.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
On the first possession of the game, Brunel attacked the offensive glass and pulled down a rebound. She located McEachin for a runner in the lane, as LC jumped out to a 2-0 lead. During LaGrange's first defensive possession, sophomore forward Breonna Glover blocked a shot on a post move by Wandell.
A left-baseline 3-pointer by McEachin off an under-the-hoop pass by Brunel cut Maryville's advantage to 12-9 with 2:44 left in the first quarter. After a defensive stop, McEachin converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, tying the game at 12-12.
A right-of-the-arc trey by senior captain Megan English put the Panthers in front, 16-12. The visitors took that lead into the second behind some outstanding defensive plays. Grant and Glover recorded blocks in the final three seconds of the opening frame.
The Panthers claimed a 24-23 lead with 2:26 on the clock in the second on a left-baseline 3-point shot by junior guard Jalaya Lewis. The Scots finished the half on an 8-0 run and took a seven-point lead into intermission.
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SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
The Panthers cut a 14-point, third-quarter deficit down to eight on a layup by Grant with 3:18 left. English drew a charge with 17 seconds remaining, but the Scots led, 51-37, heading into the final 10 minutes.
English made a great all-around play early in the fourth. She stole the ball on defense, and then side-stepped her defender for a layup 2:32 into the quarter. The Scots maintained a double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter.
McEachin scored 11 second-half points and Grant scored her eight points in the final 20 minutes. Senior center Nadia Montour finished with six second-half points.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
The Panthers held a 30-22 advantage in points in the paint and a 17-11 lead in second-chance points. LC led the bench-points category, 18-10.
Glover finished with a career-high three blocks. Maryville held a 43-42 advantage in the rebounding game.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
McEachin averaged 19.3 points per game, the most by any player in program history in a complete season. She recorded four double-doubles.
McEachin tied the program's single-game assists record with 14 in a 106-25 season-opening win over Agnes Scott on Jan. 15. The 5-foot-5 guard ranks second in the USA South in assists (5.8) and fifth in points per game this season.
She checks in at second in free-throw shooting (87.0%) and 3-point shooting (42.4%). On Jan. 25, McEachin became the first Panther to earn the conference's women's basketball player of the week award since Marilauren Farr '19 on Nov. 19, 2018.
Assistant Sports Information Director Trevor Wenners can be reached at twenners@lagrange.edu.
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