Women’s Basketball Wins Back-To-Back Games with 77-59 Victory over Nyack

Copyright 2019; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo of Jadyn Whitsitt who scored 18 points against Nyack. Photo by Dan Lauletta. January 5, 2019 vs. Nyack College.
Copyright 2019; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo of Jadyn Whitsitt who scored 18 points against Nyack. Photo by Dan Lauletta. January 5, 2019 vs. Nyack College.

NEWARK, Del. - - A big third quarter on Saturday led the Wilmington University women's basketball team to back-to-back Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victories, defeating Nyack, 77-59, at the WU Athletics Complex.

Already leading by 10 points at the halftime break, the Wildcats (3-10, 3-2 CACC) came out and outscored the Warriors (3-10, 1-4 CACC), 19-9, in the third quarter and held as large as a 21-point cushion before cruising to the big victory.

For the second game in a row, the Wildcats got out to a good start in the first quarter, allowing them to play on top for the majority of the contest. Macy Robinson gave the Wildcats a 5-0 lead with her first three of the game before Jadyn Whitsitt followed with a three over her own for the quick 8-2 lead. The Warriors fought back to tie the game at 10-10, but that would be the final tie of the contest.

Nyree Grant hit a long range two-pointer before Whitsitt hit another three-pointer in the first quarter and the Wildcats led 19-12 with 1:35 left in the frame. Robinson hit the Wildcats' third three of the first quarter and the Wildcats led 22-18 after one quarter.

Jaelyn Durrett gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead of the game with a free throw with 7:40 left in the second quarter. Kiara Eubanks capped a 7-0 run with a layup for the 37-24 lead. The Wildcats would go into the halftime break leading 37-27.

The Warriors cut the deficit to 39-31 early in the third quarter, but the Wildcats clamped down on defense and put a game-deciding run together. Nyree Grant started it with three free throws before Eubanks made a layup and hit a jumper for the 15-point lead. Emily Ansah put in back-to-back layups to cap the 11-0 run, taking a 50-31 lead with 2:35 left in the quarter. Macy Robinson gave the Wildcats their first 20-point lead with her only shot of the frame, a three-pointer for the 56-35 lead. They would go into the final frame leading 56-36.

The Warriors went on a run to get the game to within 12 points, 61-49, but the Wildcats answered with an 8-0 run of their own, with six points coming off the hand of Kiara Eubanks. Another 5-0 run gave the Wildcats a 74-53 lead late before Jadyn Whitsitt ended the contest with a three-pointer with less than a minute to play for the dagger.

The Wildcats shot 41.2 percent from the floor for the game, shooting 9-of-21 from beyond the three-point arc for the game. They forced Nyack into 32 turnovers in the game, leading to 36 points at the other end of the floor.

Five of the three-pointers came from Macy Robinson, as she led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-9 from deep and 4-of-8 from the foul line. She added five rebounds, four assists, and four steals in the win.

Jadyn Whitsitt scored 18 points while hitting four three-pointers, adding five rebounds and two assists. Nyree Grant secured a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Kiara Eubanks added 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting as well.

The Wildcats have their conference bye this week, but return to action next Saturday when they head to Concordia. The women start the CACC doubleheader in Bronxville, New York at 1:00 p.m.