Lady Bisons softball team eliminated from A-Sun Softball Championship, awaiting possible NCAA tourney bid

The Lipscomb Lady Bisons softball team was eliminated from the Atlantic Sun Softball Championship Thursday evening at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. The 3-0 loss to USC Upstate that ended the tourney for the Lady Bisons was the end of a scoreless day for the home team. Earlier Thursday, the Lady Bisons lost their first game of the tournament to the Stetson Hatters 2-0. That struggle began with senior pitcher Ashley Anderson walking in a run in the first inning. The Lady Bisons had a chance to answer when junior infielder Paige Neely got a single in the bottom of the inning but was left stranded. The next runner to cross the plate did not come until the fifth inning. Stetson junior infielder Demi Meza and senior pitcher/infielder Meredith Owen earned back-to-back walks. Meza and Owen were bunted over by sophomore infielder Kayla Drury. Meza scored on a sacrifice fly from junior utility player Amanda Grimaldo to give the Hatters a 2-0 lead. The Lady Bisons scattered six hits in the losing effort. Anderson picked up the loss. Her record fell to 19-5. Owen picked up the victory for the Hatters, improving her record to 24-7. Lipscomb head coach Kristin Ryman said she was not expecting the morning to end like it did. “I thought we came out in good spirits,” Ryman said. “We struggled to adjust to the strike zone early in the game. It’s frustrating to come into a game expecting to start one way and not have that happen.” The offensive struggles continued for the Lady Bisons Thursday evening in game two against USC Upstate. Upstate got on the board...

Bisons’ win streak ends with home loss to ETSU

The Force was strong with the Bisons in Saturday’s game against ETSU in Allen Arena, but not strong enough. Lipscomb Athletics hosted the 6th annual Star Wars night during the Bisons’ game against Eastern Tennessee State University but the team fell 96-88 to the visiting Buccaneers. While the children got pictures with their favorite bounty hunters, Jedi and even Darth Vader, Lipscomb stayed neck-and-neck with the Bucs until about the final three minutes. From the tip-off, freshman guard Josh Williams scored the first three points of the game from the left of the basket. From there, neither team stopped shooting threes. The Buccaneers attempted 15 shots from the arch in the game and made seven. Junior ETSU guard Jalen Riley scored 12 points behind the arc, while scoring 30 in total for the night. The Bisons made 13 of their 34 three-point attempts, finishing with a 38 percent three-point shooting percentage. It was a close game, as the scored had been tied 15 times, and there were 27 lead changes. The Bisons’ scoring slowed and nearly came to a halt in the final minutes as ETSU pulled away with free throws. Head coach Casey Alexander said that although the team kept it close, the Bisons could not get in rhythm or be aggressive. “We never got in a rhythm defensively. We could never get stops together; we could never stop their offensive momentum. “We weren’t necessarily behind in points, but we were never the aggressor out in front out there.” Lipscomb had two players cross the 20 points mark. Junior forward Malcolm Smith lead the team with 27 points. Redshirt...

Fothergill in a leadership position for the Lady Bisons

Since making her debut on Dec. 14,  redshirt sophomore Danay Fothergill has set the A-Sun record for most points in a game and brought home the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week award once. Fothergill received the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week award Jan. 20. and posted her career high of 34 points against Mercer Jan. 11. Fothergill has averaged 31 points in the last three games. “Knowing I need to attack the basket, knowing I need to get to the free-throw line and hitting open shots is how I scored those points and got in the rhythm,” Fothergill said. Fothergill transferred from Western Kentucky for the spring semester last year. By NCAA rule, she had to sit out one year of game play. She came out ready in her first game back scoring 19 against Jacksonville State. Even though she was practicing, Fothergill says she learned the most from watching the games on the bench. “I was watching the games, and I was learning from them so I would change my behaviors in practice to how game situations were handled,” Fothergill said. “It’s kind of like I got to see each play and mentally change the outcome.” Fothergill has stepped into many roles for the Lady Bisons recently including point guard. Fothergill sees her role as being a leader wherever Coach Brown needs her. “I’m trying to not only be a scoring leader but a vocal leader too, and trying to make my teammates better everyday is what I’m really trying to focus on,” Fothergill said. The Lady Bisons have only won three games and are still looking...

Hampton leads men’s basketball to second A-Sun win

Bisons upped their conference record to 2-5 with their 88-83 win against Kennesaw State Thursday night. With defense as a focus for the team throughout the week of practice, the men came out of the game with 17 offensive rebounds and 20 defensive rebounds, sophomore Talbott Denny pulling down ten on his own. “Defense, defense, defense. We didn’t work anything on offense,” redshirt freshman J.C. Hampton said. Hampton led the team with 22 points followed by junior Malcolm Smith with 21 points. Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Week Josh Williams had a night worthy of his award, scoring 19 with two steals. “As a freshman you go in there doing what the coach expects you to do and just find a way to help the team,” Williams said. “You never know when you’re going to be put in a situation to step up, you just have to be ready for that.” The Bisons started slow in the first few minutes of the game but kicked it into gear before the half. As the halftime buzzer sound, Hampton sent up a three-pointer that hit nothing but net, tying the score at 45. The game was a fight to the finish with the lead changing 15 times until the Bisons secured the win with Hampton’s layup with under a minute to go making the score 85-81. The Bisons take on Mercer Saturday at 4 p.m. in Allen Arena. The Bears are currently tied with Florida Gulf Coast for first in the conference, both teams sitting at a 5-1 in conference play. “In a game like Mercer, they’re a good team, but there...

Soccer standout Ellen Lundy shares memories of first season as A-Sun tournament awaits

Freshman Ellen Lundy has already recorded big accomplishments and made several memories during her first season on the Lady Bisons soccer team.  Lundy finished the regular season as the Atlantic Sun co-leader in points with 31. The freshman standout scored 14 goals overall, setting a Lipscomb record for most goals in a season. She was also recently ranked number 68 on Top Drawer Soccer’s top 100 freshman list. And, this past weekend, she had a major role in helping the Lady Bison reach their first appearance in the conference tournament in school history. Lundy hails from Rogers, Ark. She says her decision to come to Lipscomb was an easy one. “When I came on my visit, I loved the culture and community of the school,” Lundy said. “Then, I met the girls and coaches, who were so awesome. It was just encouraging and easy.” Entering the biggest stage of her career yet, Lundy wanted to prove she belonged at the collegiate level. “I didn’t know what to expect coming in, but I just wanted to prove I could play at the Division I level and accomplish my goal of helping contribute to the team anyway I could. I feel like I did that,” Lundy said. One of Lundy’s favorite moments of the season was the Lady Bison big 2-1 win over Mercer, who is the defending A-Sun champion. Lundy scored both goals with the game-winner coming in the 83rd minute. “Looking back, when we beat Mercer was a huge win for us that kick started our season and gave us energy and hope that we could make the tournament,” Lundy said. Lundy said her favorite...