The Pfeiffer University women’s basketball team jumped out to a 12-5 lead and never looked back in defeating visiting William Peace University 82-66 in a USA South game at Merner Gym on Wednesday evening.

The Falcons started the first quarter hot, bolting to a 12-5 lead at the 4:48 mark. WPU did pull to 15-11 but a basket from Johnashia Watson with 1:07 left pushed the Falcons lead to 17-11 at the end of the quarter.

The Pfeiffer lead then swelled to 21-11 following a Kortni Pinion jumper, but WPU responded with a 10-2 run that trimmed the Falcon lead to just 23-21 at 4:48.

An 11-2 run by the Falcons over the next 2:48 boosted the Falcon lead to 34-23. The two teams then traded baskets in the waning seconds of the half, with Pfeiffer leading 36-25 at the break.

In the third quarter, William Peace would outscore the Falcons 20-15, trimming the deficit to 51-46 heading into the fourth.

In the final quarter, Pfeiffer responded by building the lead to 70-54 over the first four minutes of the quarter and would go on to lead by as many as 19 points (80-61), eventually taking the 82-66 win.

Pfeiffer outshot the Pacers, posting a 31-of-55 (56.4 percent) outing from the field while WPU struggled, shooting 38.7 percent (24-of-62). The Falcons were efficient from long range, hitting 6-of-10 three point attempts while limiting WPU to a 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) effort from beyond the arc. Pfeiffer was also able to spread the ball around, amassing 18 assists on the night.

Senior Sydni Bickford led Pfeiffer with 23 points while going 8-of-10 from the field, hitting three from distance. Teammate Mya Johnson finished with 21 points while Pinion had 12 and a team-high seven rebounds. Guard
A’Mya McClain just missed a double-double, scoring nine points while dishing nine assists.

WPU got 18 points from Mariah Ballen, 14 from Mikayla Ray and 11 from Khadijah Daniels in the loss. Ray also secured 10 rebounds to post the double-double.

The win boosts the Falcons to 9-8 overall and 6-7 in USA South games while WPU fell to 12-9 and 8-5 in league play.

Pfeiffer will take to the road this upcoming weekend, travelling to Averett on Feb. 2 for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff with the Cougars.