By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

MOUNT ULLA —  Mars Hill’s women’s basketball program has struggled for a while in the South Atlantic Conference, but took an important step toward moving up in the standings on Tuesday.

The Lions (6-8, 1-4) got a commitment  from West Rowan standout Lauren Arnold, who has a chance to be an impact player in the SAC.

The Lions’ head coach is Emry Tsitouris, who was an assistant coach at Catawba before getting the Mars Hill job.

Arnold has ideal size for a SAC forward at 5-foot-11. She rebounds like a power forward, but she also has small forward skills. She’s a reliable 3-point shooter, a solid defender, and she can run the floor very well.

Arnold, who played for the Charlotte Dream Elite AAU team, was MVP of the 2023 3A state championship game.

She’s been the MVP of two straight Dale’s Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas Classics.

Arnold, who has a career high of 29 points, has been the leading scorer for Ashley Poole’s West squads for four seasons and has amassed 1,249 career points.

She reached 1,000 points as a junior in the first round of the state playoffs.

Her stats have been suppressed some the last two seasons because West has blown out so many teams. There have been a lot of 40-point wins and running-clock second halves. West is also unusually balanced. Five Falcons average double figures.

Arnold, who was third team all-region last spring, is averaging 16.5 points this season.

She averaged 16.1 points as a junior for a 31-0 team.

She averaged 16.7 points as a sophomore when West was 17-7 and was involved in quite a few competitive games.

As a freshman in the COVID-shortened season, Arnold averaged 12.4 points.

She has scored in double figures in every game this season and has a streak of 26 straight games in double figures dating back to the 2022-23 season.

West is 10-1 this season and is ranked among the state’s top 3A teams.