Tuesday, January 6, 2009 — The women of Pfeiffer University basketball claimed their first victory of the season over Conference Carolinas foe Converse College, 91-87, on Monday evening in Merner gymnasium.

Pfeiffer improves to 1-2 in conference play and 1-7 overall. The Valkyries remain winless with a 0-4 conference record and a 0-9 record overall.

Play remained tight in the first half with the Falcons and Valkyries trading field goals. Pfeiffer broke away from a tie game at the eight-minute mark and led by as much as 13 points before the end of the half.

Converse’s attempts to eat away at their deficit were met with consistent Falcon offensive effort. Pfeiffer led 57-47 going into the locker room.

Pfeiffer remained in the lead for the final 20 minutes, but the Valkyries battled and refused to let the Falcons run away with the game.

Two free throws from Devona Knight with one second left gave the Falcons a four-point win.

Knight led the Falcons with 20 points, including 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Jessica Walter added 16 points, which included going 4-for-4 at the foul line.

Morgan Sacharski led the Valkyries with 19 points, going 6-for-7 from the field and 7-for-8 at the free-throw line, and pulled down nine rebounds.

Pfeiffer will continue Conference Carolinas play when the Falcons travel to Barton on Thursday evening and to Coker on Saturday.

St. Aug. 88, Pfeiffer 86

The Pfeiffer University women’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to the visiting Falcons of Saint Augustine’s College 88-86 Saturday afternoon.

The Pfeiffer team fell to an overall record of 0-7, while Saint Augustine’s improved to 3-5.

Saint Augustine’s came out strong and pulled away with a handful of field goals.

However, the Pfeiffer women battled back to tie the game with just under 10 minutes left in the half. The teams traded the lead back and forth, but Saint Augustine’s led 45-39 going into the locker room at the break.

Pfeiffer continued to push hard in the second half and played tight defense on their visitors. They were able to hold Saint Augustine’s lead to eight points in the final 20 minutes. Pfeiffer whittled away at their deficit and managed to tie the game twice before the final buzzer. Despite their efforts, the Pfeiffer Lady Falcons were unable to come away with a win, losing by just two points.

The Pfeiffer Lady Falcons were led by junior forward Shanee Purnell with 21 points. Sophomore guards Devona Knight and Dominique China followed up with 19 and 14 points, respectively. Senior center Amanda Huffaker pulled down 10 boards.

The Saint Augustine Lady Falcons also had three players score in double digits. Freshman center Keyona Bryant led her team with 22 points. Sophomore guards Lekiesha White and Whitney Griffis had 17 and 15 points, respectively.