BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - - The Wilmington University women's basketball team couldn't hold onto a halftime lead on the road, falling 78-67 to Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference North Division foe Concordia on Saturday afternoon at the Meyer Athletic Center.
Trailing by a point after the first quarter, the Wildcats (3-11, 3-3 CACC) took a four-point lead into the halftime break by winning the second quarter, 15-10. But seven Wildcat turnovers and the Clippers (3-12, 1-5 CACC) shooting 70.6 percent from the floor in the third quarter flipped the game around, leading to the Clippers' victory.
Jadyn Whitsitt put the Wildcats up 13-10 late in the first quarter, but a 6-0 Clipper run put the home team up 16-13 with 44 seconds left. Nyree Grant beat the buzzer with a layup, brining the first quarter to a close with the Wildcats down, 16-15.
A 13-0 run in the middle of the second quarter aided the Wildcats to turning a 21-17 deficit into a 30-21 advantage with 4:47 left before the half, capped by a Nyree Grant layup. The Clippers answered with the final fix points of the quarter however, and the Wildcats had just a 30-26 lead at the halftime break.
The Wildcats continue to lead through the first half of the third quarter, with Macy Robinson putting the Wildcats up 45-37 with 3:49 left in the frame. But out of a Concordia timeout, the Clippers rattled off seven straight points to cut the Wildcats' lead to a single point and eventually took the lead, 48-47, with 1:08 showing on the clock.
The Wildcats turned the ball over on their next two possessions, leading to back-to-back easy buckets for the Clippers, and they capped the quarter with a three-pointer in the closing seconds, taking a 53-49 lead into the final quarter.
A 9-2 spurt to start the fourth quarter gave the Clippers a 62-51 lead with 8:22 left in regulation and the home team never looked back.
Jadyn Whitsitt made two free throws and converted a Macy Robinson steal into a layup to get to within 66-62, but that is as close as they would get as the Clippers were able to ice the game at the free throw line the rest of the way.
Macy Robinson came off the bench to lead the Wildcats with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, adding four assists and four steals. Jadyn Whitsitt scored 11 points while leading the team with seven rebounds and six steals. Emily Ansah and Kiara Eubanks added 10 points each.
The Wildcats shot 51 percent from the floor (26-of-51) but just 3-of-11 form deep. The Clippers shot 47.4 percent from the floor (27-of-57) and hit on 6-of-13 from three-point territory. They also went 18-of-26 from the foul line compared to the Wildcats 12-of-23.
The Wildcats remain on the road for one more contest, gearing up for a contest at nationally ranked USciences on Wednesday night. The Wildcats and Devils tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in Philadelphia.