ROANOKE, Va. - Agnes Scott (1-4) came out of the gates on fire today at the Hollins Empowerment Classic, taking down Warren Wilson, 75-68, to pick up their first win of the young season. With the win, the Scotties now lead the short all-time series, 2-1, as the two teams traded wins in their first two contests over the last two seasons. All three contests between the programs have been decided by under ten points.

First Quarter: The first half, and more pointedly, the first quarter, were crucial to the young Scottie squad entering the win column. Ryley Jolley got the Scotties started with a layup 13 seconds in, and Cybele Forbes and Anissa Brailsford each drained a three pointer to give the Scotties an early, 8-0, lead. Brea Batts got the Owls (0-7) on the board with a long ball of her own, but Kaycie Hyde answered at the 6:19 mark with a three, extending the lead back to 8, 11-3. Jolly hit another layup and Forbes drained her second three-pointer, as the Scotties entered a double digit lead, 16-3. When all was said and done, the Scotties owned a 21-6 advantage over the Owls after one quarter. The Scotties would finish the quarter 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Second Quarter: The Scotties quickly extended their lead with a 9-0 run as Forbes added the first three points of the quarter on free throws. Hyde followed with a layup at the 9:04 mark, and Damaris Gaines added a free throw before Forbes once again hit from long range, giving the Scotties a 30-6 advantage. The Owls would right the ship somewhat, as they played the Scotties even for the rest of the quarter, entering the locker room down by a score of 38-16.

Third Quarter: The Owls came out for the second half ready to fight for their first win, beginning the third quarter with a 5-0 run. Forbes hit her fourth three-pointer to stop the surge momentarily, as the Scotties held a 41-21 lead with 7:47 to play in the quarter. Another six-point run for the Owls was halted by a long ball, as Ava Hendrie drained her first triple of the contest, and the Scotties maintained a 44-27 lead. The game started to get more interesting when Tatyana Lewis hit two long balls for the Owls only 30 seconds apart, bringing the Owls within 11, as they trailed 48-37 with 4:06 left in the quarter. They would continue to pressure the Scotties, bringing the lead down to within 4, as they trailed, 51-47, with 1:15 to play, but free throws by Hyde and Brailsford helped the Scotties stop the surge, leading 54-47 at the end of three.

Fourth Quarter: The three-point shooting of the Scotties was the story of the contest, as they finished with a season-high 12 three pointers, and once again shot 50% in the fourth quarter from downtown. Brailsford immediately got the lead back to double digits with a long ball, followed by a layup, to give the Scotties the 59-47 lead. The Owls refused to give in, answering with three baskets of their own to bring themselves within six. Brailsford would once again come up big, dropping a layup to stretch the lead back to 8, before the Owls made their last significant run, going on a 6-0 run to bring the game within 2 points, 61-59. Hyde would put the first dagger in the Owls' chances, draining a three with 4:20 to play, giving the Scotties a 5-point cushion. Two Jordan McGhee free throws would get the Owls back within three, before Lexxi Romero-Williams drained a three of her own off an assist from Brailsford, and just twenty seconds later, would return the favor by feeding Brailsford for a three of her own, stretching the lead to 9 with 3:02 left. Brailsford would, in fact, have the next seven points in the contest, to put the game away, as the lead ballooned back to 13 off of her layup with 2:15 to go, 74-61.

Stars of the Game: Brailsford would be the story down the stretch for the Scotties, as she scored 14 of her team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. She also led all players with 13 rebounds, and also registered 3 blocks. Cybele Forbes had the hot hand for the Scotties, shooting 5-for-8 overall and 4-for-6 from three point range. She had her strongest collegiate game in her rookie campaign, finishing with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists. Kaycie Hyde also had a phenomenal night for the Scotties, narrowly missing a triple-double. The freshman finished the contest with a season-high 11 assists, to go along with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. The 11 assists is the most assists in a game for the Scotties since Kalin Smith logged 13 assists against Wesleyan (Ga.) on 1/9/19.  

Other highlights: Damaris Gaines and Ava Hendrie each had extended roles in the contest due to sophomore Ryley Jolly going out with a bloody nose in the first quarter. Each of them rose to the challenge, as Gaines hustled throughout the contest, picking up 9 rebounds and 6 points. Hendrie drained two shots from behind the arc, finishing with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and a team-high 5 steals. All three were season-highs for Hendrie.

The Scotties will face off with local foe, Emory University, on the road on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. before taking a break for finals as the semester draws to a close.