Women’s basketball rolls to first home win

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – After two competitive outings full of promise and missed opportunities, Lipscomb women’s basketball walked off the Allen Arena floor with a win for the first time of the 2022-2023 season in an 81-54 victory against the Wilberforce Bulldogs.

The Bisons were led by three double-figure scorers including Jayln Holcomb, who led all scorers with 25 points. Ole Miss transfer, Alleah Sorrentino, also added 17 points in a performance that included her first career double-double. 

Murray State transfer, Claira McGowan, also added 13 points while shooting 5-9 from the field and 1-4 from three. 

Lipscomb came out of the gate blazing hot and were up 8–0 at the first media timeout behind a fantastic start from Jaylin Holcomb that included two early threes. 

Wilberforce got on the board shortly after, but the Bisons extended their lead to 10 as the first quarter concluded. 

The Bisons continued their pace throughout the second quarter and were energized by two timely threes by freshman forward Molly Heard, who made her college debut in Saturday afternoon’s contest. 

Behind a well flowing offense and an 11-0 scoring run, the Bisons took a 43-24 lead on Wilberforce heading into the half. 

Lipscomb didn’t look back after taking that first half lead. 

Sumski’s team jumped out of the break with a 13-2 run to extend their lead to 30 points. 

The Bisons entered the 4th quarter with a 67-40 lead while shooting 50% from the field and 42.1% from three. 

The Bisons and Bulldogs scored 14 points each in the fourth quarter, but the Bisons were still able to close out the contest with a 81-54 win. The final quarter was highlighted by the first points of Kamil Collier’s college career. 

A get right game

Lipscomb started out the season with two competitive non-conference games, but came out on the wrong end of things in both contests. 

The Bisons picked up their first win in Saturday’s game against their NAIA contest. 

Sumski’s team didn’t just get a win either, the 1-2 Bisons took control of the contest in the late first half and didn’t look back. 

The Bisons lead for the entirety of Saturday’s game shot a higher percentage from the field, had more assists, and also won the rebounding battle along with the turnover battle. 

Just getting back in the win column and gaining momentum was important for a Bisons team taht has high hopes heading into the rest of the non-conference slate. 

Three Quick Takes:

Holcomb and Sorrentino were excellent 

It’s been clear all along that Lipscomb is going to go as far as Holcomb and Sorrentino will take them. 

Today, both of Lipscomb’s highest volume players showed up in a big way. 

Holcomb led the Bisons in scoring with 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting.

Sorrentino chipped in 17 points along with 11 rebounds in the first double-double of her college career. 

The pair also combined for 27 of Lipscomb’s 43 first half points to help the Bisons pull away from Wilberforce. 

It’s a lot to ask, but if Lipscomb can consistently get anywhere near the performances that they got from Holcomb and Sorrentino today, they will be a real threat in the ASUN. 

Turnovers remain an issue 

Heading into Saturday afternoon’s contest, Sumski’s team was averaging a whopping 20 turnovers per game. 

Even against a lesser opponent, the Bisons still struggled with taking care of the ball against the aggressive Bulldogs defense. 

Sumski’s team won handily, but couldn’t pull away from their NAIA opponent until the late first half because of their seven first half turnovers. 

The Bisons turned it over 19 times throughout the afternoon. 

Lipscomb also had the same amount of turnovers as assists throughout the afternoon.

There were plenty of positive signs throughout the night for the Bisons but their turnover issues still remain. 

Lipscomb controlled the glass

When playing as fast as Lipscomb does and shooting as many threes as they do, controlling the glass can be a decider in tight games. 

On Saturday afternoon’s game, the Bisons did just that. Lipscomb dominated on the glass. 

Lipscomb outrebounded Wilberforce by 13 and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds as opposed to the Bulldogs’ 6. 

Ole Miss transfer, Alleah Sorentino, led the Bisons with 11 boards including five offensive rebounds. 

While Wilberforce certainly doesn’t have the size that most of Lipscomb’s opponents will, rebounding the way that the Bisons did as a team and individually is an encouraging sign. 

Lipscomb Women’s Basketball moves to 1-2 on the season heading into Monday night’s contest against Mississippi Valley State. That game will be streamed live on The Bison, Lipscomb’s on-campus radio station.

Photo by Parker O’Neal