MARS HILL, N.C. | Briana Bell's free throw with one second remaining capped off a Young Harris College comeback as the Mountain Lions prevailed 61-60 over Mars Hill University in a non-conference women's basketball game Wednesday (Dec. 2) evening at Stanford Arena.
 
The Mountain Lions improved to 4-2 as they break for the next 10 days for final exams. Young Harris returns to action Dec. 12 at 1:30 p.m. when they host Brenau University at the YHC Basketball Arena. Mars Hill slipped to 1-5.
 
Mars Hill had a four-point lead on three occasions in the first quarter and led 13-9 heading into the second period. The Lions went on a 14-8 run to start the second quarter and led by 10 points (27-17) with 3:58 left in the second quarter after Brenda Kamga scored inside. A short range jumper by Amanda Okodugha with eight seconds left before halftime sent the teams into the locker room with the score 29-23 in favor of Mars Hill.
 
Mars Hill took a 40-30 advantage with 3:31 on the clock in the third quarter after Ansley Ricker made two free throws. YHC outscored Mars Hill 7-2 to close the gap to five points (42-37) to close out the quarter.
 
After leading by eight points (45-37) on a three-pointer by Ricker with 9:46 left, the Mountain Lions went on a 13-5 run to tie the game at 50 on a Meredith Tarver layup with 6:06 remaining. The Lions answered with a 10-4 run of their own to lead by six points (60-54) on a Kelsey Espinosa layup 3:03 to play. YHC then scored six unanswered points to tie the game for the fourth time at 60 with 48 seconds left on a Tarver layup.
 
The Lions were fouled on their next possession but missed both free throws and Young Harris regained the ball with 30 seconds left in the game. Holding the ball for the final shot of regulation, Bell's three-point attempt with one second left on the clock missed its mark but she was fouled on the play. Bell made the first free throws to give the Mountain Lions a 61-60 lead before missing her final two attempts.
 
"I'm very proud of these young women and what they had to overcome tonight," said Young Harris head coach Matt Stearsman. "We weren't playing very well and we had to dig down deep and find something we didn't know we had. My appreciation for their guts is through the roof. Any win is good, but this one feels a lot better than most. I'm so happy for this team because they battled and battled."
 
Tarver led all scorers with a career high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor. Bell finished with nine points while Jasmine Knight contributed eight. Okodugha finished with six points and six rebounds for the Mountain Lions.
 
Ricker led Mars Hill with 17 points and Cadence Wilmoth added 15 more.