Cobras Win Fourth Straight, Complete Season Sweep of Mars Hill on Saturday

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Coker University women's basketball team won its fourth straight game and completed the season sweep of Mars Hill with a 72-70 victory on Saturday (Feb. 1) in South Atlantic Conference action.

The teams played to a 6-6 tie through the first five minutes, before the Cobras went ahead by five on an old-fashioned three-point play by Hope Richardson. The Cobras extended their lead to seven with three and a half minutes left, before Mars Hill rallied to tie the game at 13 with 1:20 left in the period. Mars Hill would take a 15-13 lead to the second quarter.

The teams played to a 17-17 tie two minutes into the second quarter, before later playing to a 25-25 deadlock with less than five minutes left in the frame. After later playing to another tie at 28-28 with three minutes to play in the half, the Cobras would go on a run to go up by seven with a minute and a half left in the quarter. Coker led by 10 in the final minute of the half, before a Mars Hill bucket sent the teams to the locker room with Coker leading 40-32.  

Mars Hill would get back within three halfway through the third quarter, before Coker would rebound to go back up by nine with four and a half minutes to play in the quarter. The Cobras later extended their lead into double-digits, before the Lions would rally to tie the game at 58 in the final minute of the quarter.

Coker jumped out to a four-point lead in the first three and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, before Mars Hill would tie the game at 64 with six minutes to play. Mars Hill would put the pressure on Coker by going on a 6-0 run to take a 70-64 lead with three and a half minutes left, before Hope Richardson would knock down one free throw with less than two minutes left to get Coker back within one at 70-69. Mars Hill took its one-point lead into the final 30 seconds, before Erin Houser scored a second-chance layup with 28 seconds left to put the Cobras ahead 71-70. Richardson would put the Cobras up by two with a split pair of free throws with six seconds remaining, before Mars Hill's final attempt came up empty.

Houser paced the Cobras with 16 points on the day, while Emily Davis contributed 15 points off the bench for a new career-high. Seven other Cobras scored in the victory. Coker nearly doubled up Mars Hill on the boards 40-21, led by a game-high 14 rebounds from Houser to complete the double-double. Six other Cobras were active on the glass in the victory. Jalah Horton dished out a team-high three assists in the game, while Hayley Kropp added two and six other Cobras each chipped in one. Saquita Joyner recorded a team-high three steals in the game, while three others also registered steals. Houser, Jalah Horton and Janell Horton each posted one block in the win.

The Cobras look to extend their winning streak further on Wednesday (Feb. 4) when they travel to Queens (N.C.) for a South Atlantic Conference tilt. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m., with video and live stats for the game will be available at www.cokercobras.com.