NEWARK, Del. - - Leading wire-to-wire the Wilmington University women's basketball team snapped a three game losing streak in defeating Felician, 81-66, in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action at the WU Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Mathematically eliminated from the CACC Tournament, the Wildcats (7-17, 4-13 CACC) get to play the spoiler in their final games of the season and it started today against Felician (10-13, 8-8 CACC) who is fighting to represent the North Division. The victory was also the Wildcats first against the Golden Falcons since the 2009-10 season, snapping a three-game losing streak in the all-time series.
The Wilmington lead first reached double digits with 9:28 to play in the first half following a pair of made free throws from Tenicia Spence. The sophomore also gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the first half at 33-18 with 3:27 to play converting a steal into a layup at the other end of the court.
Defense was key for the Wildcats, as they force the Golden Falcons into 14 first half turnovers, collecting five steals and turning them into seven points at the other end. The Wildcats also collected 10 offensive rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, putting eight second chance points on the board.
Taylor Carter and Spence built the Wildcats lead back up to 15 to start the second half, with a pair of buckets from Carter sandwiched around a steal and layup by Spence.
Felician made a push in the middle of the second half, cutting the deficit to as few as three points with 11:24 to play. The Golden Falcons used a 10-2 run to turn an 11 point deficit into a 50-47 ballgame with more than half the second stanza to play.
But the Wildcats responded with a 9-0 run of their own, capped by an offensive rebount and put back by Tashea Plummer, giving the home team a 59-47 lead with 9:16 to play. From there, the Golden Falcons could only close to single digits on two occasions before the Wildcats closed out the contest for the victory.
Spence finished with a game high 33 points, shooting 12-of-23 from the floor and adding 8-of-10 from the foul line. She also did it at the defensive end, collecting six steals while dishing out two assists with only one turnover. Carter joined Spence in double figures with a career best 15 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor.
The boards were controlled by a pair of Wildcats, as Plummer collected her third double-double of the season off the bench, scoring 14 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Half of her rebounds came on the offensive glass while she also went 6-of-8 from the foul line. Jenn Carr finished with a game high 12 rebounds, with five also coming on the offensive glass. Carr added seven points, three assists, three steals, and a block in the win.
Wilmington went 23-of-30 from the foul line in the game, shooting 41.2 percent from the field. The defense held the Golden Falcons to 31.6 percent from the field, collecting 17 steals while forcing Felician into 29 total turnovers.
The next chance for the Wildcats to play the spoiler will be on Tuesday in Wilmington's final home game of the 2013-14 season. The team will play cross-town rival Goldey-Beacom, who is currently in fourth place in the CACC South Division, starting at 6 p.m.
Prior to the game, the team will honor its three seniors playing in their final contest in front of the home crowd. Pre-game ceremonies will begin with honors to Lauren Brown, Allison McDonald, and Kathryn Franklin.
