Women’s Basketball
Women’s basketball came out this season looking for revenge. Last season, the Lady Lions’ playoff run fell short after hosting Belhaven University in the quarterfinals, resulting in a loss after two overtimes.
This season, the Lady Lions, determined to protect their home court, went undefeated at home, and their only losses occurred on the road. Even then, the Lady Lions only had two conference losses to Asbury University and Belhaven University.
The season opened up in Memphis, TN, at the Rhodes Classic, where the Lady Lions lost to East Texas Baptist University and Oglethorpe University but defeated the host team, Rhodes College.
“Non-conference regular season, we played some really tough teams, one in particular is a top 25 team currently,” said Assistant Coach Christian Buckmire. “We lost some of those games which we were in position to win. But we used those games, the wins and losses, as learning experiences for our conference season.”
The Lady Lions have dominated the conference with a 14-2 record. The first conference match-up resulted in a win for the Lady Lions against the Scotties of Agnes Scott College. After that, the Lady Lions went on a seven-game winning streak in conference play before losing to Asbury University in their second meeting.
Even with all the success this team has accomplished in the regular season, there are still challenges the team will have to overcome.
“Biggest challenge, I think will be how we respond to adversity. Basketball is a game of runs so making sure we don’t get too high or too low, stay even keeled,” said Buckmire. “We have plenty of players who’ve been in this position before so using that experience [is] to our advantage.”
The players in question are seniors Andelin Hill and Nae-Nae Eades. Hill has been recognized three times as CCS player of the week. Graduate student Ashley Scott was there when the Lady Lions fell short to Berea College in the finals in the 2022-2023 season as well.
“We want to approach every game with the same mentality of being aggressive offensively and applying pressure defensively,” said Buckmire in regards to overcoming these challenges. Buckmire also highlights that committing to game plans, taking care of the ball, reducing turnovers and executing easy plays will be crucial to positioning themselves to win.
[Our] mindset going into the tournament is to just do the little things. [We must be] intentional of having a positive attitude, being locked in and focused on what we need to do to be successful,” said Buckmire.
The Lady Lions are set to host the semifinals and finals of the CCS tournament on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1. For times and future conference tournament matchups, visit the Piedmont Lions website.
Men’s Basketball
Men’s basketball had a season rollercoaster, ending with an overall record of 11-14 and 3-9 in the conference. The Lions opened their season at Winthrop University, where they competed against former lion, Ryan Jolly. The Lions then traveled to the University of South Carolina – Upstate in their second exhibition match. While these both ended in a loss, the Lions got their first win the following week in a game against Johnson & Wales (N.C.).
The first conference match-up resulted in a win for the Lions against the newest members of the CCS, Asbury University. Towards the middle of the season, the Lions went through a slump of six straight losses.
“They’ve done a really good job of just trying to work hard every day as we try to work out of this. It hasn’t been fun and losing is never fun, but they haven’t quit on it,” said Head Coach Greg Neeley. “They’re still tuned into what we’re trying to do. I think they’re working as hard as we did early in the year. I think we know we’re capable because we showed that earlier in the season. We’re just fighting like crazy to try to get it back.”
Neeley’s words cleared up some fog as the Lions ended their six-game losing streak with a win against Warren Wilson College, where seniors Griffin Neville, Javi Marlowe, Bailey Wiseman, and Zach Oechsle were honored. However, the underclassmen stole the show. Freshman Jackson Houston made his presence known with a pair of dunks in the last 10 minutes of the game. This momentum ignited sophomore Israel Hall to have a turn with a dunk of his own.
“Our mindset going forward to playoffs is to focus on ourselves, and everything will play out accordingly,” said junior Silas Mulligan. “Our biggest challenge would be staying hot late in the game, and we plan to be better at that by practicing game-like shots.”
The Lions are traveling to Montgomery, Alabama for the first round in the CCS tournament, where they will face the Hawks of Huntingdon College. To stay updated with the Lions’ playoff run, visit piedmontlions.com.
