Press Release Written by Mitchell Coll
NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University women's basketball team fell to the Lightning of Goldey-Beacom Tuesday night at the WU Athletics Complex with a score of 74-53. Goldey-Beacom's shooting percentage progressively improved each quarter, which proved to be the difference-maker in the contest.
The Wildcats (1-10, 1-5 CACC) used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to get the deficit to as few as 35-32, but the Lightning (7-9, 2-6 CACC) scored 17 of the final 20 points of the quarter to open a 14-point lead going into the final frame.
In the first quarter, junior forward, Emily Ansah started the scoring off for the 'Cats with a made jump shot off of a nice find from freshman guard, Daja Claiborne. On the defensive side sophomore guard Layla Hunt, change the momentum with a steal and earned her way to the line, sinking both free-throws to narrow the Lightning's lead down to one, with the score, 7-6 with 3:59 left in the first. In the next possession, Hunt kept the energy alive with an offensive rebound and a dish to freshman guard Skylar Parris who made a jump shot from the elbow for their first lead of the game, making it 8-7 Wildcats.
The second quarter saw some playmaking from senior center Sabreen Muslim. She was able to connect with Skylar Parris from the top of the key, and Parris took care of the rest with another made jump shot. Daja Claiborne joined in on the ball movement, finding Emily Ansah for a layup at 6:02. A couple of possessions later Ansah again finds her name in the scoring column from an assistant by Layla Hunt. Freshman guard Jade Roberts saw her first points of the night with a jump shot on another find from Sabreen Muslim with 23 seconds left in the first half.
The second half started just like the first for Wilmington's offense with Ansah scoring two with a made layup. Sophomore guard Amaja Mack connected on her first basket of the night with a made jump shot at 8:01. Tanasia Miles was perfect from the line tonight, going 4 for 4. She shot her first pair in the third quarter with 2:10 left. In the fourth quarter the Wildcats was led by Claiborne's six points and four rebounds: two offensive and two defensive rebounds. Muslim added five points and four boards.
All eight Wildcats who suited up tonight found themselves on the scoresheet. Emily Ansah led the way with 12 points, 9 boards, an assistant, and a block. Daja Claiborne finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and one steal. Sabreen Muslim off the bench had 9 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, and one steal.
The Wildcats will hit the road for a conference matchup against Bloomfield on January 22 at 1:00 PM. Then, they will travel to Georgian Court for a scheduled make-up game on Monday, January 24 at 6:00 PM. The next time they will be back at the WU Athletics Complex is when they welcome Jefferson on Wednesday, January 26 at 6:00 PM.
