St. Andrews falls to Columbia in first home game without Granato

LAURINBURG — Following the news on Saturday that Vinnie Granato stepped down as the St. Andrews head women’s basketball coach on Nov. 16, it’s understandable why the Lady Knights have underperformed since then, losing their last two road games to Brenau on Nov. 28 and Montreat on Nov. 30.

And despite keeping the score tight for the first three quarters of Saturday’s game against the Columbia (SC) Koalas, St. Andrews had its losing streak extended to three games as they fell 79-65 at Harris Court — its first home game without Granato.

With no assistant coaches on the staff, the Lady Knights have had different interim head coaches in all three games since Granato’s resignation. Ben Twigger, St. Andrews’ head men’s volleyball coach, stepped in to coach against Brenau, and Mary Cross, St. Andrews’ housing director, coached against Montreat.

St. Andrews athletic director Elizabeth Burris was the interim head coach for the Lady Knights against the Koalas.

”I think they’re a little beat up, and I think that they just got a little bit tired,” Burris said on her team. “But I think for the most part, they put in a really good effort. I think they’re doing well.”

It wasn’t the first time Burris, also the St. Andrews head softball coach, had to step in and coach the women’s basketball team. In the final game against Johnson last season, Burris did so for Shareka Maner, the head coach at the time, after Maner came down with an illness.

“I think coaching is coaching,” Burris said. “I just think as long as you can motivate kids, which obviously, didn’t do the best job, but I think it’s just the same.”

St. Andrews (3-4, 2-4 Appalachian Athletic Conference) started the game down 5-0 before guard Ashley Starks made a 3-pointer to put the team on the board. Columbia (6-5, 4-4 AAC) held the lead before another 3 by Starks put St. Andrews in front for the first time 19-17 with 3:23 to go in the first quarter. Columbia scored the succeeding four points to retake the lead, but with 0.4 left in the first, Starks was fouled on a layup attempt and cashed in two free throws to tie the game at 21-21 going into the second.

Starks had 11 of her 24 total points in the first.

Forward Samantha Tougher opened the second with a layup for the Lady Knights, followed by a trey from guard Emily Cruz, pushing them out to a 28-23 advantage. St. Andrews’ lead grew to 32-25 with 5:36 till halftime off a layup from Tougher, but the Koalas stayed within seven points of tying the game the rest of the period; the Lady Knights led 37-34 at the break.

Starks opened the third-quarter scoring with a midrange jumper before layups by Columbia guard Anaya Muhammad and forward Payton Brookover made it just a one-point lead for St. Andrews at 39-38. Forward Madison Larrimore dumped in a layup and Cruz nailed a 3 to move St. Andrews ahead by six points. But an answered trey by guard Carnasia Wells, a triple by guard Lauren Wearbon, and then another 3-ball from Wells put Columbia out in front 47-44, with St. Andrews calling a timeout.

Burris told her team that she was confident they could take back the lead.

“Just that they can do this, that they can bounce back, and they’ve got to slow things down,” Burris said on what she told her team during the timeout.

In resuming play, Wearbon and forward Tamyra Davis connected on layups for the Koalas, but seven straight points to go down only one at 52-51 with 2:04 remaining in the third. St. Andrews ended the frame with a layup, but Columbia closed with one also and a 3-pointer by Muhammad to lead 57-53.

A minute and 45 seconds into the fourth, Cruz fouled out after picking up her fifth, and guard Hailey Crozier took her place.

Cruz was by far St. Andrews’ most efficient scorer, with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting, making all three of her 3-point attempts. She also tied with Larrimore for the team leader in rebounds with eight.

“Fouls are killing us,” Burris said. “All season, fouls have killed us, and they can continue to.”

Cruz’s loss proved crucial as St. Andrews never recaptured the lead. Starks laced a shot from downtown to make the Lady Knights’ deficit 62-58 with 6:25 left, but Columbia ventured out on an 11-2 run from there and outscored St. Andrews 17-7 till the buzzer lit up red.

Guard Kamya Hatten had 18 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and two steals to lead Columbia; Davis had 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists; Muhammad and guard Tysonia Lowe had 11 points each; guard Leah Page had 10 points and five rebounds; and Wells had 10 rebounds.

St. Andrews shot 23 of 78 (29.5%) overall, 6 of 17 from 3 (35.3%), and 13 of 15 (86.7%) from the foul stripe, while Columbia was 27-for-60 (45%) shooting overall, 9 of 23 (39.1%) from long range, and 16 of 18 (88.9%) from the foul stripe. Columbia outrebounded the Knights 41-34.

While it’s been over two weeks since Granato left St. Andrews, it hasn’t been as simple for the players to put it behind them and focus on moving forward.

Center Caycee Scott said Granato told them about his decision in a “regular meeting.”

”It hurt that he did resign,” Scott said. “But at the same time, we have to take it day by day, honestly. I feel like him leaving was just a lesson for us to work with each other and work together. It was very unexpected, but it is what it is.”

Guard A.J. Price reiterated Scott.

”It was a big surprise,” Price said. “We didn’t see it coming. And now, the adjustment is making it harder for us, but we’re trying the best that we can.”

Price also voiced frustration about having three interim head coaches in the past week.

“(Burris) tries to remind us that she has people coming in for us, but they’re trying to put somebody in the place right now. And that’s the struggle because we don’t have any consistency with the coaching staff,” Price said. ”Every coach that they put in our staff is different. And I feel like, in my opinion, our girls basketball team is not being heard right now, and they’re just putting someone there just to put someone there. That’s why our record is (dropping) down lower and lower every time.”

The Lady Knights will look to bring their record back to .500 when they take on Pikeville in Kentucky on Wednesday.