BOCA RATON, Fla. – A second half of 52 percent shooting from the field and perfect mark from the free throw line helped Lynn University's women's basketball team knock-off rival Barry 64-55 on Wednesday night. Kira Harvey became just the third player in program history to go 12-for-12 from the free throw line while the Fighting Knights won the regular season series for the first time over Barry since 2006-07.
Trailing 28-23 early in the second period, Harvey began her string of 12 consecutive made attempts at the charity strip to pull her team within three. Shatorria Baker then stole a pass at mid-court and the Blue & White (15-7, 8-4 Sunshine State Conference) found themselves trailing by just one.
Two more shots by Harvey at the line at 13:34 gave Lynn its first lead since midway in the opening half but Colette Eule answered back with a three-point play to put Barry (9-13, 4-8 SSC) back on top. Eule would go on to knock down a pair of threes in the middle of an 11-3 run to help the Buccaneers build a 44-37 advantage with 8:33 to play.
The Fighting Knights stormed back behind Baker, who nailed two treys, and the free throw shooting prowess of Charla Nelson-James and Harvey. Taking advantage of a foul and technical, Harvey hit nothing but net on four straight attempts from the stripe only to see Eule and Tyler Hardy knot the game for the eighth time.
Lynn, though, hit its next five shots from the field and two more from the line, to put Barry away for the 19th time in program history. Harvey finished with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds while also contributing five assists and two steals. Nelson-James added 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting, with seven boards and three blocks.
A scorching second half allowed LU to shoot 42.3 percent from the field while the 100% mark at the free throw line is just the second time it has been accomplished in program history. Lynn held Barry to 35.2 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers while also claiming a 35-31 advantage on the boards.
Harvey joins Gulsah Akkaya (14-for-14, 1998) and Liz Speliotes (12-for-12, 2003) as the only players with a perfect mark in at least 12 attempts. Three others finished a game perfect from the line but with only eight attempts.
The Fighting Knights continue their three-game home stand on Saturday, February 16, with a 2 p.m. tipoff against Rollins. Fans canwatch the game live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @LUKnights on Twitter and Instagram.
