GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Ferrum College women's basketball team secured a 63-56 win over LaRoche College on opening night of the Sara Lee Classic, hosted by Denison University. The Panthers stormed out of the gates with a commanding first-half performance, leading by 15 points at halftime before fending off a determined comeback from LaRoche in the second half.

THE BASICS

Aisha Martin led all scorers with 21 points, knocking down five treys for the night. Ferrum started strong building the early lead and leading by 15 at intermission. The Redhawks came out strong in the third quarter outscoring Ferrum 30-11 in the third and taking a 43-39 lead into the fourth. Ferrum regained their composure and outscored LaRoche 12-2 to regain the lead 51-45. The Redhawks cut it to 3 with 1:33 remaining in the game and was forced to send Ferrum to the line. The Panthers made 7 for 8 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Ferrum shot 34% (17-40) and made 6 shots from behind the arc. They also went 23 for 33 from the free throw line. Junior Allyson Cassell scored 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Freshman Kleiauna Riddick grabbed 10 rebounds. 

RECORDS

Ferrum (2-0)
LaRoche (1-1)

KEY STATS
Ferrum: Martin 15 points, Cassell 12 points, 7 rebounds, Taryn Blankenship 10 points, Riddick 10 rebounds
LaRoche: Alexis Robinson 15 points, Jazmine Dunn 13 points, 6 rebounds, Kiyana Dowling 11 points

UP NEXT
Coach Bryan Harvey's team has a short turn around, playing Denison University in the Championship game of the Sara Lee Classic tomorrow (11/17/24). Tip off in Granville, Ohio is set for 3:00 PM.