NYACK, N.Y. - - Macy Robinson's eight three-pointers carried the Wilmington University women's basketball team out to a large lead, but it needed to hang on late at Nyack, 80-76, on Saturday in Bowman Gym in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference cross divisional action.
The Wildcats (6-12, 3-7 CACC) snapped a three-game losing streak by busting out of the gates against the Warriors (2-17, 2-8 CACC), leading by nine points after the first quarter and 21 points at the halftime break. But the Warriors came back and closed the gap to 17 points after three quarters and nearly came all the way back in the fourth quarter before the Wildcats closed the door late.
Redshirt junior Macy Robinson shot 8-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc for the game, ranking as the second most made three-pointers in a game in the Wildcats' NCAA era. She surpassed three former Wildcats that hit seven triples in a game, and only trailed Jamie Gallagher's 10 made three-pointer at USciences on January 24, 2009.
Robinson and the Wildcats got off to a hot start in the first quarter, shooting 57.1 percent from the floor. Most of that came from Robinson herself, as she shot 5-of-6 from the floor for the quarter, but more impressively a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc. She accrued 17 points in the opening quarter, leading the Wildcats to a 24-15 lead after 10 minutes of action.
The redshirt junior cooled down in the second quarter, but Emma Matthews picked up where Robinson left off. Matthews went 3-of-5 from the floor, and hit both of her two three-pointers before the half, scoring eight points while adding four assists in the quarter. The Wildcats shot 45 percent from the floor in the second, hitting 3-of-4 from deep to extend the lead to 46-25 at the halftime break.
Robinson came back in the third and hit both of her three-pointers in the quarter, but Nyree Grant took over the 10-minute period by shooting 3-of-4 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the foul line for nine points and five rebounds in the frame. But the Warriors received 10 points from Jocelin Wright and seven more from Japria Karim-Duvall to outscore the Wildcats, 27-23, in the quarter, cutting the home team's deficit to 17 points.
Mikala Casimir scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter for the Wildcats, giving the visitors a 71-52 lead. But the Warriors responded by scoring 11 straight to get back into single digits, 71-63, with 6:27 left in regulation. Casimire hit another jumper to end the drought but Nyack came back scored nine straight again, getting to within a single point, 73-72, with 2:59 showing on the clock.
The Wildcats bunkered down, however, as Jadyn Whitsitt put in a layup and Casimir converted a turnover into a made jumper to take a 77-72 lead. The Warriors battled back with back-to-back buckets to again get within 77-76 with 28 seconds to play, but Robinson capped her 31-point performance with a layup on the ensuing possession, and the Wildcats were able to deny the Warriors on three occasions at the other end to secure the victory.
Robinson went 10-of-17 from the floor, including 8-of-11 from deep, and 3-of-5 from the foul line for 31 points and eight rebounds in the game. Grant secured a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Matthews nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine assists. Casimir was the fourth starter in double digits with 11 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor.
The Wildcats shot 30-of-60 from the floor for the game, including 11-of-19 from beyond the three-point arc. The Wildcats led the Warriors in points in the paint, 30-22, as well.
The Wildcats will go for the season sweep of Holy Family in their next contest, as they head to Philadelphia to take on the Tigers on Wednesday night. The opening tip is set for 6:00 p.m.