CONWAY, AR – The Principia College Women's Basketball team traveled to Arkansas to participate in a shootout with Hendrix College and Southwestern University. The first game was a 5 pm matchup on Friday night with host Hendrix Warriors.

The Panthers returned just three players from last year's one-win season: junior Alana Hinson, and sophomores Paige Fowler and Carolina Rojas. The team adds key pieces for year two of Coach Ro's tenure with five newcomers: Taylor Brown, Ariana Williams, Deija Carter, Mia Saucedo, and Victoria Columbus. This new combination matched last year's win total in game one with a 74-69 victory.  

The freshmen duo of Taylor Brown (22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) and Ariana Williams (16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists) were just the spark plug of energy the Panthers needed. The first quarter saw the Panthers come out a little nervous on defense, and at the end of the quarter, those nerves had led to a 18-22 deficit. However, the second quarter was a huge turnaround as the Panther defense cranked up and led the Panthers to a 5-point advantage at the half.

The third quarter was won by the Panthers as well, who built up a 11-point lead on some great work in the post by Alana Hinson (11 points and 5 rebounds) and Deija Carter (2 points and 3 rebounds) as well as the crafty post play of Paige Fowler (16 points and 7 rebounds). Guard Carolina Rojas (9 points and 7 rebounds) was the stopper on a Hendrix surge in the final frame. Just as the lead was cut to five, Rojas hit a huge double jab step three from the wing that gave the Panthers the cushion they needed to hold on for the win.  

Team captain Alana Hinson had this to say about the win and being 1-0: "Tonight's win is just a reflection of our hard work that we have put in the last few weeks. It was a great example of a team win with everyone contributing and everyone celebrating each other. You couldn't have asked for anymore from anyone than what we gave tonight."  

Up Next: The Panthers will play the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow at Hendrix when they take on Southwestern (TX) at 1:00 pm.