Eagles drop last three of four with PC loss

Strong performances by Dequesha McClanahan and Diana Choibekova were not enough to take down Presbyterian College on Saturday. Photo by Sarah AuvilBy Casey White
whitec@mytjnow.com

The Winthrop Lady Eagles saw a comfortable 10-point lead disintegrate before their eyes in the last eight minutes of Saturday’s conference matchup versus #6 ranked Presbyterian College. Although phenom guards Diana Choibekova and Dequesha McClanahan averaged 22.5 points each on the afternoon, Winthrop’s bench couldn’t provide any late support, leading to a rough 63-60 loss at the Winthrop Coliseum. 

“They wanted to keep the game low, slow, close and tight for them to have a chance,” head coach Marlene Stollings said. Stollings said PC’s win was partly due to the fact that they were able to keep the game at a slow pace that the team was comfortable with.

Winthrop’s McClanahan got off to a slow start, but started gaining momentum after making two free throws 11 minutes into the game. McClanahan ended the first half with nine points, and kept up the pace scoring another nine in the second half.  

Although McClanahan seemed to pick up the slack at the end of the first half and during the second half, Winthrop’s other go to shooter seemed to lose her momentum in the second half. Choibekova only managed to make only 8 points in the second half, three of which were free throws, compared to her solid 14 points in the first half. 

Winthrop’s bench didn’t fare as well as McClanahan and Choibekova, only managing to score a total of six points before the end of the game. 

The first period ended with Winthrop and PC tied at 30. The Eagles managed to make 45.8% of their shots, with The Blue Hose making 46.2% of theirs.  

Kristen Stevens and Mariah Pietrowski carried PC offensively and kept the otherwise weak team from falling too far behind.   

Stevens came off the bench and went 7-11, five of which were three pointers, while Pietrowski went 7-13 and made 6 of her 8 free throws. Without these two players taking the lead offensively, PC’s score would have taken a major hit.  

“Mariah is a very talented player. She’s the leading scorer for them, and she’s their go- to player,” said Stollings. “All of their offense goes through her. She really spirited their comeback.”

“Nine of 17 free throw shooting could have been the difference,” said Winthrop assistant coach Kevin Cook. “You’ve got to hit your freebies.” 

Winthrop only managed to make 46.2% of free throws in the second half. 

Winthrop not only struggled at the free throw line, but also couldn’t manage to get rebounds off of their three point shots. 

Winthrop took the court with a new energy in the beginning of the second half and took a quick lead. It was at this time that they created the biggest deficit of the game at 10 points. Winthrop’s defense fell apart within the next five minutes and PC regained the lead. 

With 1:30 remaining PC took the lead and stayed ahead until the final buzzer, despite an attempt to get Choibekova the ball to tie the game in the final seconds.

Winthrop looks to learn from this loss and will try to defeat Gardner-Webb, who are currently ranked 10th in their conference, in their next match.