ROCK HILL, SC – Winthrop was held to single digits in 2-of-4 quarters to fall 61-41 to the Presbyterian Blue Hose Tuesday night.
 
KEY CONTRIBUTORS
Tori Hall (7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals)
Madison Ervin (7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal)
Sydney Hunter (4 points, 8 rebounds)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Presbyterian got the scoring started with a made free throw and a Tionna Carter layup. Tori Hall responded with a shot from behind-the-arc to tie things at three apiece. Maleia Bracone drained a shot from deep to regain the three-point lead. Winthrop was held scoreless until the 3:01 mark when Hall drained her second shot of the night, accounting for Winthrop's five points. The one-point contest was short-lived because seconds later, Presbyterian's Bracone hit her second triple of the evening, 9-5. Back-to-back made free throws before the end of the quarter gave the Blue Hose a four-point lead after 10, 11-7. Maleeah Langstaff got the Eagles on the board in the second quarter with a quick layup to make it a one possession game. Another 3-pointer from Bracone extended PC's lead to five once again, 14-9. Anika Riley was fouled on her made jumper and made her free throw to cut the Blue Hose's lead to two, 14-12. Bracone was electric from deep, hitting her fourth triple to make it a 17-12 game. Madison Ervin and Myra Strickland both drained shots from deep but a made layup before time expired extended PC's lead to eight at the half, 29-21.
 
Presbyterian had the first eight points of the half, six from Tionna Carter, to take a 16-point lead, 37-21. Sydney Hunter broke the streak with a jumper to get the Eagles on the board in the second half. The Eagles struggled to slow down the Blue Hose, getting outscored in the third quarter, 22-9. After two quick PC baskets to open the fourth quarter, Myra Strickland drained shot from deep. Despite outscoring the Blue Hose 11-10 in the fourth quarter, their lead was too large to overcome, dropping Game 1 of the final series, 61-41.
 
 NOTABLES
Eagles outrebounded the Blue Hose, 39-32
Winthrop committed 20 turnovers, resulting in 25 points for PC
The Blue Hose turned the ball over 14 time, resulting in just six points for the Eagles
Winthrop's bench contributed 15 points tonight, led by Tori Hall with seven points
The Eagles finished the contest shooting 31 percent from the field (15-of-48), 27 percent from 3-point range (4-of-15) and 78 percent from the line (7-of-9)
Presbyterian shot 36 percent from the field (19-of-53), 32 percent from deep (7-of-22) and 76 percent from the charity stripe (16-of-21)
 
 UP NEXT
Winthrop will look to split the series with Presbyterian with a win on senior night, Wednesday, Mar. 2. Game 2 is set to begin at 6 p.m. Winthrop will honor the graduating class of 2021 prior to tip-off.