Big Run to Close Out Second Quarter Carries Wilmington Women’s Basketball to 71-48 over Georgian Court

Big Run to Close Out Second Quarter Carries Wilmington Women’s Basketball to 71-48 over Georgian Court

Copyright 2015; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. File photo of Lindsay Bradford by Frank Stallworth. 

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - Except for a minute and two seconds of the second quarter, the Wilmington University women's basketball team either was tied or held the lead against Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division foe Georgian Court, carrying it to a 71-48 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Wellness Center.

The Wildcats (5-3, 1-1 CACC) took a 16-12 lead into the second quarter, but the Lions (0-8, 0-4 CACC) battled back to take a lead as early as 18-16 and had the game tied as late as 22-22. But the final four minutes of the second quarter belonged to the Wildcats, as they went on a 10-0 initial run and a 17-4 run to head into the halftime break leading 39-26.

Lindsay Bradford started the second half with a jumper to stretch the lead to 41-26, but then the rest of the third quarter was a defensive battle. The Lions closed the gap to 10 points before the Wildcats rattled off another 10-0 run to stretch the lead even further. Tenicia Spence scored five of the points in the stretch, which was capped by a Emma Matthews three-pointer to give the Wildcats a 51-31 lead. The visitors outscored the Lions, 14-7, in the quarter, opening a 53-33 lead going into the final stanza.

The Lions hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 17 points, but the Wildcats had an answer for every Lions bucket in the fourth quarter. Spence was able to score four straight to open the lead back out to 21 points before the Wildcats were able to open their largest lead of the game, 65-42, with 2:24 left in the contest.

Spence led the Wildcats with 19 points in the game, including 10 points in the fourth quarter on 4-for-4 shooting to keep the Lions at an arms' reach. Bradford poured in 12 points while adding eight rebounds and four blocked shots defensively. Matthews was the final double-digit scorer for the Wildcats, scoring 10 points while securing a double-double with 12 rebounds. Matthews also led the team with five assists in the contest.

The Wildcats shot 37.3 percent fro the floor, but was able to hold the Lions to 25.6 percent shooting from the floor for the game. Both teams committed 18 turnovers and picked up nine steals in the game, but the Wildcats denied 10 Lions shots via the block and out rebounded them 65-43.

Saturday was the sixth and final game of the Wildcats' six-game road trip, as they return home for their next CACC contest. The Wildcats host Philadelphia on Tuesday at the WU Athletics Complex, kicking off a basketball doubleheader at 6:00 p.m.