NEWARK, Del. - - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team shot its way to a 105-69 victory over Wilmington University in the Wildcats' 2013-14 home opener on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
Bloomsburg (2-0), coached by former Wilmington head coach Bill Cleary, shot 38-of-79 from the floor, including 9-of-22 from beyond the three-point arc on its way to the victory. The Wildcats (0-2) were led by sophomore Tenicia Spence who tallied 21 points but only shot 38.6 percent from the floor as a team.
The Huskies led wire-to-wire, jumping out to a 16-3 lead in the first five minutes of the contest. The lead grew to as large as 21 beginning with 4:31 remaining in the first half, but the Wildcats were only able to cut the deficit to as few as 17 on a three pointer by Spence before the Huskies went into the halftime break leading, 51-30.
The largest lead of the game for the visitors came with 7:41 remaining in the contest, as a layup pushed the advantage to 88-48. The Wildcats closed the gap to as few 31 points on a couple of occasions the rest of the way, but a jumper as time expired pushed the Huskies lead back out to 36 to end the game.
Spence's 21 points gives the sophomore 20 or more points in each of the team's two contests this year, as she poured in a game high 27 against Lock Haven to open the year. Tiaja Harrold and Jasmine Lee each tallied nine points while Lee narrowly missed a double-double off the bench with a team high nine rebounds as well.
Bloomsburg had five student-athletes in double figures, led by Catherine Noack's 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Noack also hit 4-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc. The Huskies also added 20 points from the free-throw line, going 20-for-25 for the game.
The Wildcats take to the road for their next three contests of the season, starting with an in-state, cross divisional game at NCAA Division I's Delaware State. The game, scheduled as an exhibition, will take place on November 20 in Dover, Del., starting at 5:30 p.m.
