MARYVILLE -- The Maryville College women's basketball team earned their 8th and final Great South Athletic Conference tournament title with a 69-56 win over LaGrange College in the GSAC final on the campus of LaGrange on Saturday afternoon.

All-Great South performer and Tournament MVP Janell Menard poured in a game-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. She deposited a pair of treys and went 4-for-6 at the free-throw line to help MC pull away from the Panthers. The Scots deposited 28 points in the paint and were paced in the post by Tayler Smith and Kiera Payne. Smith sank 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting while Payne led all players on the glass with a dozen rebounds. Payne also added 8 points and three steals for a complete effort. Sophomore guard Lauren Burnett added 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting. MC's long range specialist tickled the twine for three treys and added seven rebounds to help MC out rebound LaGrange 44-31.

LaGrange (19-9) was led by Heather Miller's 14 points while Katie Covington added 12 points.

Maryville (21-6) will earn the Great South's automatic bid to participate in post-season action. The trip to the NCAA National Tournament will be the program's 18th in their storied history, their first since the 2009-2010 season. The announcement of MC's next opponent will be released on Monday by the NCAA.

Source: Maryville College Athletics Department