Lady Bisons ousted by Flames in soccer quarterfinals

Lady Bisons ousted by Flames in soccer quarterfinals

In the quarterfinal matchup of the ASUN tournament, the #1 seed Lady Bisons hosted the #4 seed Liberty and fell at home 1-0, ending their season. The last time these two teams met Lipscomb took a 5-1 victory in Lynchburg. Before that though, they met at Lipscomb in a game that ended in a 0-0 tie through 110 minutes of soccer. Today, the game would look very similar to the last time the Flames came to Lipscomb, but this time Liberty would take a lead 1-0 with a goal by McKinley Burkett in the 20th minute. From there the Bisons would not be able to score at all.  The Bisons had many opportunities with 16 shots, 4 on goal throughout the game and both teams split even with 4 saves from the goal line. This game eliminates the Bisons from further ASUN contests and Liberty will go on to face the University of North Florida on April 15th.  The Bisons have a small chance of making an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament, but with a draw against Bellarmine and an early loss in the ASUN tournament, that route seems unlikely. Though the Bisons did not finish the season where they had hoped, they finished the year at 7-2-2 with the early conference tournament loss. Gallery by Riley...
Lady Bisons pull off win against Highlander in crucial ASUN seeding game

Lady Bisons pull off win against Highlander in crucial ASUN seeding game

The Lipscomb Lady Bisons survived a second-half comeback from the NJIT Highlanders 68-66 Monday night in Allen Arena. The win snaps a six-game losing streak and keeps the Lady Bisons in the driver’s seat for the eighth and final spot in the ASUN Championship Tournament. “We knew that today’s game was going to be a battle for the conference tournament,” Lipscomb head coach Lauren Sumski said. “We knew they were going to do some things they hadn’t done all year; they had to step up and make shots they hadn’t made all year.” It was a sluggish first quarter for both teams. Neither team shot particularly well, with Lipscomb only taking a 12-8 lead because of three-pointers from senior guard Carleigh Short and junior forward Taylor Clark. Lipscomb took a 34-17 lead into halftime off the back of a 14-4 run in the second quarter. “That’s been the consistent theme for us,” Sumski said. “We’ve been putting together pretty good second quarters when we settle into the game. If we don’t have that second quarter, we don’t have the result we had tonight” Despite widening the lead to 40-17 with nine minutes to play in the third quarter, Lipscomb would only make four more field goals the rest of the quarter and none in the final three minutes. This allowed NJIT to drop the lead to 51-42 with only 70 seconds played into the final quarter. “We just have to do better out of halftime defending and keeping a sense of urgency,” Sumski said. “It’s about being tough and withstanding those runs.” A scoreless run by Lipscomb late in...
Lady Bisons fall to North Florida 68-60

Lady Bisons fall to North Florida 68-60

An afternoon of loose shooting and scoring runs given up proved to be the downfall of the Lipscomb Lady Bisons against the UNF Ospreys with a deceptively close final score of 68-60. It was looking like this game may be a low-scoring, close game in the beginning stages, as the first quarter ended with the Ospreys ahead 15-12. The first quarter was a defensive battle, with each team forcing four turnovers. The Ospreys also had three blocked shots. Carleigh Short scored the first basket of the second quarter to pull the Lady Bisons to within one at 15-14. It would be several minutes before the Lady Bisons made another basket. The Ospreys went on a 13-0 run that lasted until 2:29 in the quarter and gave the team a 30-18 lead. Poor shooting hurt Lipscomb the most in this quarter. The Lady Bisons shot 5-14 in and were 0-4 from beyond the three-point line. At halftime, UNF’s Jazz Bond had eight points, six rebounds, and two blocks Lipscomb struggled to keep up with the faster, more physical playstyle of UNF. This gave the Ospreys several fastbreaks and points scored from the paint and played a part in the Ospreys out-rebounding the Lady Bisons 22 to 14 in the half. The Lady Bisons scored the game’s next four baskets to shrink UNF’s lead to 30-24 at the beginning of the third quarter. The teams would go scoreless over the next two minutes due to good defense and missed shots. The teams went basket-for-basket with each other until the Ospreys set off on another run with just under four minutes to...
Lipscomb softball evens ASUN record with 13-0 win over UNF

Lipscomb softball evens ASUN record with 13-0 win over UNF

Lipscomb’s softball team showcased its talents on the mound and over the plate in a 13-0 victory over UNF on Sunday to clinch the weekend series 2-1. The two teams split the doubleheader on Saturday, with UNF taking game one 8-6 and Lipscomb taking game two 3-1 thanks to a three-run homer from Jenna Pealor in the sixth inning. Lipscomb is now 23-12-1 (3-3 ASUN). North Florida drops to 20-12 (3-3 ASUN). Saturday’s second game marked the first win of the season from the mound for junior Chloe Yeager. “She’s finally back to old Chloe, which is huge,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. She followed up the win on Saturday with another on Sunday in a standout performance where she gave up only one hit, walked only one batter and struck out three in the five innings available before the game was ended due to the run rule. The Lipscomb offense started off Sunday’s game strong and appeared to have solved the scoring issues it faced in Saturday’s second game. Hannah DeVault and Pealor shared 5 RBIs in the first two innings, with a sixth coming from Sarah Higgins. “We just really attacked the ball and attacked good pitches from the get-go today,” Ryman said. “We created a little bit of havoc today on the bases, too, with quite a few stolen bases and were able to get a lot of runners in scoring position for those girls in the middle of the order.” The Bisons followed up two strong innings with seven more runs in the third. Although the big hits from DeVault and Pealor put the runs...
NOTEBOOK: Lipscomb defense ranks among nation’s best

NOTEBOOK: Lipscomb defense ranks among nation’s best

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team has always been known for its offense, dating back to the Don Meyer NAIA days in the 1980s and 90s. But this season, it’s been the team’s defense that has turned close games into blowouts. Lipscomb’s 92-55 victory over North Florida Wednesday night was the team’s largest margin of victory in its ASUN history. “That’s the most underrated part of our team,” Lipscomb junior Michael Buckland said. “Our experience helps. We know the tendencies of our conference opponents. It’s just executing scouting reports and going out there and playing.” KenPom.com ranks Lipscomb as the nation’s 14th-best in adjusted defensive efficiency, or points allowed per 100 possessions. The Bisons have allowed just 66 points per game in ASUN play, and they’ve held four conference opponents to less than 60 points. The adjusted defensive efficiency statistic is helpful for gauging the strength of the Lipscomb defense because its high-tempo offense affords opponents more possessions and opportunities to score. The Bisons ranked 316th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency in 2014-15, but they have steadily climbed the rankings since. “We’re known for our offense, but people need to realize that we practice defense a ton,” senior Garrison Mathews said. “If you look at the KenPom rankings and stuff, we’ve improved each year. It’s been great.” The Bisons, who have a +2.8 turnover margin, play with intensity on defense and often force opponents out of their rhythm. North Florida committed 15 turnovers to Lipscomb’s 10, and the Ospreys shot just 34 percent from the floor. “Defense is so much effort and a willingness to do...