Londaisha Smith (1) attempts a layup during the Knights’ home matchup with Morris on Monday night. Smith led the team in scoring with 24 points.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Ma’Nas Drummond (1) defends a Hornets player looking to drive to the basket. Drummond had 20 points on Monday.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Jordan Taylor goes up for a block on Rashad Simmons (10).
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Katie Moore (30) attempts a free throw during the second half of St. Andrews’ matchup with Morris.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG —The St. Andrews Knights women’s basketball team picked up a convincing 70-55 victory over visiting Morris College on Monday night at Harris Court. The Knights picked up their second win in three games to improve to 3-6 (1-3 against conference opponents) on the season while the Hornets fall to 1-9 with their sixth consecutive loss.
St. Andrews controlled the contest from start to finish as they led by as many as 19, never trailed and outscored Morris in every quarter of the game (20-15, 19-12, 15-13, 16-15). The Knights held the edge in several key statistics including field goal percentage (31.8%-25.7%), free throw percentage (66.7%-51.6%), turnovers committed (19-23), points off turnovers (19-13), points in the paint (10-6) and bench points (21-11).
Londaisha Smith was a stat sheet stuffer for St. Andrews, leading the team in points with 24 (on a very efficient 9-15 shooting from the field), in steals with eight and also shared the team lead in rebounds (with Jada Richardson who had nine). Ashley Starks added 19 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in the victory while Jamicia Davis led the team in assists with four.
The Knights will have until next Wednesday (Dec. 4) off, when they will travel to face conference rival Montreat College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. from Kimmel Arena.
Men pick up first victory of season with win over Morris
It wasn’t easy, but the Knights managed to pick up their first victory of the 2024-25 season over Morris on Monday night by a score of 100-97 at Harris Court. St. Andrews improves to 1-6 (0-4 against AAC teams) with the win while the Hornets watched their two-game winning streak come to an end as they fall to 2-3 with the defeat.
Despite the close final score, St. Andrews had the game in control throughout as they never trailed by more than one point and only three lead changes took place, all of which happened in the first two minutes of the game. The Knights led by as many as 27 as they dominated the first half 51-29 before holding on for the victory.
Many of the statistics were very close, as is expected with a tight final score. Examples of this include field goal percentage (43.1%-42.3% in favor of Morris), free throw percentage (66%-64.6% in favor of Morris) and assists (15-12 Knights). The Knights biggest advantage was in three-point percentage, shooting 9-21 (42.9%) from downtown compared to 6-21 (28.6%) for the Hornets.
The Knights had a terrific scoring night as six different players chipped in at least 10 points, with Mateu Escamilla leading the way with 26 while also nabbing six rebounds (tied for team lead), six assists (team leading), two steals and two blocks. Ma’Nas Drummond added 20 points, three rebounds and an assist in the win.
St. Andrews will have a short turnaround with an exhibition contest at The Citadel on Tuesday night. Their next game that counts in the standings will be on Dec. 4 when they travel to face conference rival Montreat College. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. that night.