BANNER ELK, N.C. – Senior attack Brittni Jones scored a game-high four goals to help lead the Converse (3-7, 1-4 CC) lacrosse team to an 11-5 victory over Lees-McRae (1-5, 1-3 CC) on Friday afternoon at the LMC Practice Field. The win was the first in conference for the Valkyries on the season.
Aubrie Lauderdale, Maria Knott, and Ashlei Alston all chipped in two goals each, while Flore Samsi connected on a score as well. Mercedes Dempsey anchored the defense with four groundballs and Ciriaca Petitto notched three off the ground.
Lees-McRae jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just over a minute into the contest. However, that lead did not last long as Converse ripped off a 4-0 scoring run to go ahead by three goals (4-1) with 8:13 remaining on the first period clock. Jones got the scoring started with back-to-back goals at the the 24:53 and 22:44 marks, respectively. Lauderdale followed that up with a pair of goals of her own. LMC's Peyton LeCompte added a goal with three and a half to play to send the teams to the locker room with CC leading 4-2.
The Bobcats started the second half with two consecutive goals to even the contest at 4-all before Jones tallied her third goal of the match at the 21:34 point of the second, giving the Valkyries a lead that would not be relinquished. Another Jones point pushed the lead to 6-4, but Lees-McRae trimmed the deficit to a single goal with 15:29 to play.
That would be the last goal scored by the Bobcats as Converse finished the contest on a 5-0 run. Knott added a man-up goal before Alston tallied a score following a free position shot. Samsi notched her only score with just under seven minutes to play before Alston and Knott went back-to-back to make the final score 11-5 in favor of the Purple and Gold.
Caitlin Johnson picked up the win after her best game of the season between the pipes for the Valkyries, allowing only five goals while saving nine shots. Johnson's .643 save percentage is a season-high.
The Valkyries will be back in action on Saturday, March 31 as they welcome the University of Mount Olive to Hayden Abney Fulp Field for a Conference Carolinas showdown. First draw control is scheduled for 4 p.m.