INSTITUTE, W.Va. - - Saint Augustine led wire-to-wire in capturing the Toys for Tots Holiday Tournament Championship, 90-62, over the Wilmington University women's basketball team on Saturday night in Fleming Hall, hosted by West Virginia State University.
The Falcons (5-4 overall) scored the first six points of the contest, and 15 of the first 17 points in the first 5:18 of the game and never looked back. The Wildcats (3-8 overall) never recovered from the early deficit, despite receiving 27 points from sophomore Tenicia Spence off the bench.
Spence, in addition to her 34 point effort from the tournament's opening game, averaged 30.5 points per game while shooting 56 percent from the floor for the weekend. She was named to the All-Tournament Team for her effort.
The Falcons' lead continued to grow throughout the first half, as they used an eight-point run in the final two minutes of play to head into the halftime break with a 43-16 lead.
The offense started to click in the second half for the Wildcats, but the damage was already done as Wilmington only closed to as few as 21 in the second half. But from that point, the Falcons used another 20-6 run to gain their largest lead of the game at 84-49 with 4:24 remaining in regulation.
Spence shot 9-for-15 from the floor against Saint Augustine's, adding 8-of-9 from the foul line to lead the team with 27 points. She also led the team with three steals in the contest.
Theresa Mitchel finished with nine points off the bench for the Wildcats, shooting 4-for-10 from the floor while Cari Callaway added seven points while hitting one of the team's three three-pointers in the game.
Jennifer Carr led the team with 10 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass. Tiaja Harrold added seven boards off the bench.
Saturday's game was the last of the 2013 season for the Wildcats, as they return to Wilmington and are off for the rest of the Holiday Break. When the calendar turns, the Wildcats return to action on January 6 at Lancaster Bible. The next time to catch the Wildcats at the WU Athletics Complex is when they return to Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action against Philadelphia on January 8.