YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Mars Hill University reeled off a 17-2 run at the start of the second half as the Lions held off Young Harris College 61-51 Monday (Dec. 1) evening in a non-conference women's basketball game at the YHC Basketball Arena.

The Lions improved to 3-3 while the Mountain Lions fell to 2-3. Young Harris returns home for the final time in 2014 when they host Truett-McConnell College Saturday (Dec. 6) at 1:30 p.m.

The first half was a close affair as neither team assumed more than a four-point lead. The opening 20 minutes saw the score tied seven times and the lead change six times.

Kelsey Espinosa's putback in the final seconds gave Mars Hill a 27-25 lead at the break. The Lions started the second half by scoring the first 13 points to open up a 40-25 lead on two Espinosa free throws with 15:35 remaining.  Jasmine Knight broke the Mars Hill run with a layup 20 seconds later but the Lions pushed their lead to 17 points (44-27) on a jumper in the paint by Genice Lance with 13:08 to play.

Young Harris got back in the game as they put together an 11-2 outburst to pull within seven points (48-41) as Shereese Williams hit two free throws with 9:10 left, but that was as close as the Mountain Lions would get.

Camille Glymph led Mars Hill with 20 points while Espinosa added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Raven Brown also pulled down 10 rebounds for the Lions. Williams led the Mountain Lions with 15 points and seven rebounds while Knight added 13 points. Kaycee Cash led Young Harris with 10 rebounds while Peyton Robertson added seven more.