Men's Statistics    Women's Statistics

Greensboro, NC (02/02/02) -- Senior guard Erin Beacham (Atlanta, GA/Lovett School) scored a game-high 15 points to help Guilford past Bridgewater for first place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) with a 59-41 home basketball win Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader.

Senior center Aron McMillian (Greensboro, NC/Greensboro Day) scored 19 of his career- and game-high 25 points in the second half to lead the Quakers' men to a hard-fought 66-57 triumph over Bridgewater in the opener.

Guilford's women (16-2, 13-1 ODAC) held the Eagles (16-3, 13-2 ODAC) to four field goals and 14.3 percent shooting from the floor en route to a 36-14 halftime lead. Bridgewater tried to get back in the game with aggressive defense in the second half, but the Quakers were equal to the task and built a 28-point advantage after a layup by freshman forward Lindsey Johnson (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury) with 13:47 remaining. Bridgewater drew no closer than 16 points with 1:07 remaining as both teams substituted liberally in the second half.

The victory extends Guilford's winning streak to a season-best eight games and avenged a 68-57 at Bridgewater January 8. The Eagles suffered their second straight loss after 11 straight victories. Bridgewater is ranked fourth in this week's NCAA Division III South region poll, one spot ahead of Guilford. The Quakers have won 15 of their last 16 games and improved to 7-0 at home this year.

Freshman forward Courtney Hill (Kannapolis, NC/North Rowan) scored nine points and had seven rebounds for Guilford. Senior teammate Amy Evans (New Bern, NC/New Bern) compiled six points, four assists and a game-high nine rebounds that helped Guilford enjoy a 46-32 advantage on the boards. Senior forward Sarah Hagood (Shawsville, VA/Shawsville) paced the Eagles with 11 points, all in the second half.

The lead changed 10 times in Saturday's tightly contested men's tilt before the Quakers pulled away with a decisive 7-0 run late down the stretch. Bridgewater's Ricky Easterling (Baltimore, MD/Dundalk) made two free throws with 6:15 left to tie the game for the seventh and final time at 44-44. A McMillian layup followed by sophomore Ron Bradford's (Eden, NC/Greensboro Day) second three-pointer of the half and sophomore Josh Connor's (Greensboro, NC/Northwest Guilford) lone field goal of the game gave the Quakers a 51-44 edge with 4:33 left. Guilford held the Eagles to two field goals in the contest's final 10 minutes and made nine of 12 free throws in the last 1:16 to seal the win.

McMillian made nine of 16 shots from the floor after starting the game by hitting just one of six. He grabbed a team-high 10 boards for his club-best seventh double-double of the year and dished out a career- and game-high four assists.

McMillian and Connor (2 points, 7 rebounds) helped limit Bridgewater senior Kyle Williford (Raleigh, NC/Leesville Road) to 11 points, over 15 below his season average of 26.3. Williford, who grabbed a game-high 11 boards, started the week ranked third among the NCAA Division III scoring leaders. Easterling and senior guard Brett Childers (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) each scored 10 points for the Eagles.

Guilford hosts Eastern Mennonite in another ODAC doubleheader Sunday (2/03) with the men's game starting at 2:00, followed by the women's contest at 4:00 pm.