NEWPORT NEWS, VA. – Senior Denise Hamilton scored 18 points while sophomore Courtney Collins added 13 as the Apprentice School lead from start to finish in defeating Methodist University 57-51 on Sunday afternoon.
Methodist, who was coming off a win at 19th-ranked Christopher Newport on Saturday, had won five in a row over the Lady Builders who recorded their first win over Methodist since 1999.
The Lady Builders opened up with a 17-7 lead with 13:02 left as Collins hit a pair of free throws. Methodist cut the lead to six points twice in the first half with the last one being a Courtney Woods jumper with 2:45 left making the game 21-15. Apprentice School closed the half on a 7-3 spurt as a Collins free throw with eight seconds left put the hosts up 28-18.
In the second half, Apprentice School got the lead to 12 points on two occasions as a Collins layup with 12:03 left put them ahead 37-25. Methodist cut the lead down to four points twice as a three-point play from Jordan Tyson with 3:14 left brought the Monarchs to 47-43. From there, the Lady Builders were 8-for-9 from the line down the stretch to ice the win.
Hamilton and Collins had eight rebounds apiece, while sophomore Danita Whitaker added a team best nine boards. Apprentice School shot 52.9% from the floor in the second half to end 18-of-47 (38.3%) for the game. Methodist went even colder in the second half hitting 11-of-43 (25.6%) in the final stanza and 19-of-70 (27.1%) for the game.
Apprentice School now hits the road for Media, PA and the Penn State Brandywine/USCAA Classic on Friday when they'll face Central Penn College in a 6 pm tip.