By ZACH THOMASWICK

Staff Writer

On Feb. 3rd, the Lady Lions wrapped up their home schedule for the 2012-2013 basketball season with a close loss to the visiting Christopher Newport Captains, 57-52.

The Lady Lions took an early lead, but midway through the first half, the Captains put together a 13-3 run to pull ahead for their first lead of the game, 17-11. 

They would hold the lead through the first half, though Piedmont did get within two points in the closing minutes, culminating with a steal and lay up by senior Kiki Thompson to put the score at 24-22 going into intermission. 

In the second half, the Captains sparked a 7-0 run to go up by ten points with only seven minutes left to play. 

The Captains would stretch the lead to as high as 14. 

The Lady Lions rallied with minutes to go, embarking on a 9-0 run to draw them within five of Christopher Newport with 31 seconds left on the clock. However, this was be as close as the Lady Lions would get.

Christopher Newport made the most of its second chances, outscoring the Lady Lions 12-2. The Captains bench also contributed heavily to the victory, outscoring Piedmont’s bench 19-7.

The Lady Lions were led in scoring by Lauren Anderson with 16 points and Taylor Swoszowski with 12 points. Lauren Hamel also pitched in 9 points to the teams total. 

This game was the final game at the Cave Arena for seniors Alyssa Jones, Thompson, and Anderson. 

“All three seniors have made a great impact on the women’s basketball program all four years,” said head coach Jamie Purdy.

“They are the only three  of the original ten recruits brought in that year, that actually stayed committed to the program and the opportunity that was given to them. They have been a true pleasure to coach and will be missed both on the court and off.”

Heading into this past weekend, Piedmont was sitting in eighth place in the USA South Conference. 

The top eight teams receive an invitation to the conference tournament, which will be held in Fayetteville, N.C. from Feb. 21-23. 

“A few things have to happen in order for us to secure a spot in the tournament,” said Purdy.

“Most importantly, we need to win our upcoming games. However, this is not the only factor. We have gotten ourselves in a position that relies on the outcome of another team’s results in their upcoming games as well. It is hard for me to say at this time where we stand. I do know that if we play like we are capable of playing, we can win the games coming up and we will most likely secure ourselves a spot.” 

The Lady Lions will wrap up their regular season with conference games on the road with games against five USA South members.