Lady Bulldogs battle back to outscore Lambuth

In an entertaining, high-scoring game, No. 8 Cumberland protected its Dallas Floyd Center court Thursday with a 94-83 win over Lambuth.
The Lady Bulldogs battled back from an early nine-point deficit to post their 12th triumph against two losses, going to 2-1 in the TranSouth Conference. Lambuth, which received votes in the NAIA poll this week, slipped to 10-4, 2-1.
"We didn't come out and set the tone early," Cumberland coach Clint Mason said. "They had three players that were knocking the threes down. But we regrouped.
"I was proud of the way we battled back to take a two-point lead at halftime.
Center Tomika Hall and point guard Ashley Cross kept Cumberland in the contest early with 12 points apiece in the first half. Hall totaled 22 points and 16 rebounds while Cross threw in three of the Lady Bulldogs' 10 three-pointers on her way to 18 points with 10 assists.
"That's what we talk about every night, having a team effort," Mason said. "Ashley Cross and Tomika Hall usually are the kind of people who don't put up big numbers. They do things in rebounds, assists and steals. Those two having 40 points, I thought they played tremendous."
Renae Williams finished with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Isabelli Cunico finished strong with 14 while Kiana Robinson added 11. C'Kala Humes collected eight while Lebanon's Kristin Kirkland tossed in two threes off the bench for her six in just 10 minutes as Cumberland connected on .477 from the floor.
"(Cunico) had some big shots late," Mason said. "That's why she's on the court. Renae Williams, she always gets her 14 or 15.
"We can go on and on."
Jodi Gunter tossed in 25 points for Lambuth while Dee Preyer threw in three of the Lady Eagles' 12 triples on her way to 15. Kelly Forrest fired in four threes en route to 14 while point guard Reggie Maddox added three treys, 11 points and 11 assists as Lambuth shot .475 from the floor.
"We played a very good game against a very good ball team that was hot from the outside," Mason said. "They were shooting threes from 25 and 30 feet."
Three-pointers by Forrest and Meghan Fuqua lifted Lambuth to leads of 27-18 and 29-20, respectively, before Cumberland climbed back, catching and going ahead of the Lady Eagles to stay 42-41 on two free throws by Williams 2:34 before halftime.
Cumberland led 48-46 at the break as both team shot over 50 percent from the floor during the first 20 minutes. The Lady Bulldogs dominated the glass 48-21.
CU will host Trevecca at 2 p.m. Saturday. The No. 15 Lady Trojans, coached by Mt. Juliet's Gary VanAtta, have several MJ players.
"It's a great rivalry," Mason said. "We hope to have a great crowd here. Trevecca has four or five girls from Mt. Juliet and Coach VanAtta so they're going to bring a lot of people in here. We need some people in the Lebanon community to come out and enjoy college basketball.
"It's our biggest rivalry. And every night in the TranSouth is a big game and we must protect our homecourt. And we've got to have some carryover."
Sports Editor Andy Reed can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 17 or by e-mail at andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com.