Source: mcscots.com
Maryville College set a new MC record for margin of victory on Sunday afternoon, as the Scots toppled USA South Athletic Conference foe Wesleyan College, 112-9.
The game – in memory of Brittany Johnson – helped raise more than $1,600 to the Brittany Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Maryville College celebrated her legacy, as they tied a pair of NCAA records in Sunday’s 103-point victory.
The Scots scored 42 points in the opening period, tying the Division III mark set by North Central College (Ill.) over Principia College on Nov. 20, 2015.
“I will tell you what was impressive was that we played everybody on our roster in that first quarter,” Head Coach Darrin Travillian said. “The distribution from everybody was great, and obviously, we shot the ball really well and had some easy opportunities. You have to put the ball through the net. That’s awesome. I’m really proud of them.”
Maryville shot 75 percent (18-of-24) in the opening quarter, while going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. They managed 32 points of 20 first-quarter turnovers for Wesleyan.
The Scots also tied the NCAA Division III mark for fewest points allowed in quarter, giving up zero points during the second quarter.
Maryville would lead 64-2 at the half, as both marks ranked as school records.
However, for Travillian, it was more about sharing the basketball.
“I told my kids, I don’t care about the score. Let’s go get a bunch of assists. Let’s go get 30 assists,'” he said. “That’s the only real statistical goal that we had – let’s get 30 assists. That shows we’re sharing it.”
The Orange and Garnet finished the game with 35 total assists on 47 made baskets.
That total is just a trio off the USA South Athletic Conference record and eight behind the NCAA mark. Maryville’s 35-assist performance ranks tied as the 13th-best in Division III since 1989.
“That’s awesome,” the head coach said. “It shows you how we’re growing, and it shows you their nature is to be unselfish. They really are an unselfish bunch, but you still have to have somebody to put it in on the other end. I can make passes all day, but somebody has to put the ball through the net. For them to be able to finish those plays, that’s great. Nobody on that team will care about, ‘How many did I score today,’ but they will all be very excited about the assists.”
MC also took care of the ball, giving up just five total turnovers while forcing 32 total steals. Maryville caused 40 Wesleyan turnovers, while scoring 62 total points off turnovers.
Those were key in a 61-0 run that lasted 22:05 over the first, second and third quarters.
Maryville’s Emerald Van Winkle and Yarissa Castroscored their first collegiate points in the game, as each of the Scots’ 11 dressed players found the scoring column.
“It’s comradery,” Travillian said. “You have kids like Libby [Gardner], Klaire [Varney] and Kelley [Wandell] who log a lot of minutes – especially Libby and Klaire who give us 34 or 36 minutes per game. For them to have the day where they didn’t have to play those kind of minutes, it was good. The best part of it is that all of those people who weren’t getting minutes and were pulling for them every single day, it was their turn to be on the floor. It was the others’ turn to be their biggest supporters in the building.”
Maryville College (10-10, 8-3 USA South) evened their record at .500 with Sunday’s win, as the Scots shot 55.3 percent (47-of-85) for the game. MC bucketed 14 treys at a 42.4 percent clip, while going a perfect 4-of-4 at the charity stripe.
Brooke McCurdy led the way with 23 points with five treys. The freshman added nine steals, six assists and a trio of rebounds for a complete game. Catherine Upshaw added 16 points and eight assist off the bench, as Shelby Hix had 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals – also off the bench.
Van Winkle – in only her second game with the Scots – added 13 points, five steals, two assists and a rebound with a trio of treys. Gardner had 10 points, four assists and four steals, while Castro added eight points and six boards.
Wandell had eight points, three rebounds and three blocks, while Delaney Lowery had eight points and eight rebounds. Varney had six points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in just over 10 minutes, as Holland Jerrolds added four points and eight rebounds. Elsa Eckenrod had two points with four assists and four steals.
Wesleyan College (0-18, 0-9) was held to a 10.5 percent effort for the game. Emilee Stevenson led the squad with five points.
Maryville will travel to Berea College on Wednesday, Jan. 23. The Scots and the Mountaineers will tipoff at 6 p.m. in Berea, Ky.
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