Averett Downs Pfeiffer Women Despite Johnson's Big Night

Misenheimer, N.C. (Jan. 14, 2019) – Pfeiffer University sophomore Mya Johnson scored a season-best 23 points but it was not enough as Averett took a 78-70 USA South win at Merner Gym on Monday night.

Johnson's big night came after she went 6-of-10 from the field and hit two three-pointers. She also was a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line and had seven rebounds.  The Roxboro, N.C. product also managed an assist and a steal in her best outing of the season.

Teammate A'Mya McClain (Hickory, N.C.) also managed double-figures for the Falcons, going for 14 points and coming away with five rebounds.  She also had a team-best four assists.

Averett had four of five starters manage double-figures, with Brooke Carthon posting a game-high 25 points.  Amania Ajayi managed a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, as did Ravyn Johnson, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. 

The Cougars bolted out to a 22-8 lead after the end of the first quarter, but Pfeiffer pulled to within 38-32 at the break.  Pfeiffer then trimmed the lead to just four points (53-49) with 2:28 left in the third after Brina Bentley (Chester, Va.) scored on a driving layup.  Averett then pushed the lead back to 60-49 by the end of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Falcons would trim the lead to as few as seven points on two separate occasions, with the latter coming with 4:21 remaining following a Johnson jumper.  Averett would go on to build their lead back to 11 points and would never allow the Falcons back to within eight points, taking the eventual 78-70 win.

The loss drops Pfeiffer, to 6-5 overall and 3-4 in USA South play while Averett improves to 10-6 and 6-2 in the league.

Pfeiffer will next return to the floor on Wednesday night, traveling to Greensboro for a 6:00 p.m. matchup with the Pride.