Box Score by Raven Wilson for Berryvikings.com
ROME, Ga.—Mel McLean scored a team-high 16 points as Berry College defeated Millsaps College, 60-54, on Sunday. McLean was 6-of-11 from the field and made three 3-pointers in the game.
The Vikings improved to 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the Southern Athletic Association. Millsaps fell to an identical 16-5 and 8-2 in conference play. The two teams are now tied for first in the SAA with four games remaining.
"This was a great game and both teams played well," said Berry's Head Coach Stephanie Dunn. "I thought we executed our game plan very well, except for missing too many free throws."
Berry was 9-of-23 from the charity stripe. Millsaps converted 8 of 15 from the line.
The Vikings started off the game strong with a 7-0 lead. The Majors closed the gap, resulting in a 24-24 tie. Zarriah Pierce's layup with four seconds left in the first half nudged the Vikings to the 26-24 halftime lead. Pierce had 13 points in the game.
The game was tied six times and the lead changed hands on four occasions. McLean's free throw with 19 seconds left in the game gave Berry its biggest lead at 58-48.
For Millsaps, Velvet Johnson scored 17 points and had four steals in the game. The Majors led in rebounding, 43-39. Miah Brooks grabbed a game-high 17 boards.
Megan Casey had a team-best 11 rebounds for the Vikings.
The Vikings play at Hendrix College on Friday at 7 p.m.
Berry College-Millsaps Women's Basketball Postgame Notes
-With 16 victories this season, the Vikings have won the most games in a single season during Stephanie Dunn's six years as head coach. The previous high was 14 wins in 2009-10 as well as 14 wins in 2013-14.
-With eight victories in conference play this season, the Vikings have won their most conference games in a single season since the Southern Athletic Association began official league play during the 2012-13 academic year. The previous high for Berry was six SAA victories in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
-The win was the first for Berry over Millsaps in the NCAA Division III era. Dating back to the 2012-13 season, Berry was 0-6 against Millsaps. Today marked the Vikings' first head-to-head win in the past seven meetings. Berry lost three times to Millsaps during 2012-13, twice in 2013-14 and once in 2014-15.
Highlights and postgame interview http://youtu.be/Zxx3oBh4hy8?list=UU5yq1Bq_K3EIIwjepBHf2xQ
