PHILADELPHIA - - The Wilmington University women's basketball team closed out its 2011-12 season on the road, losing to Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference foe University of the Sciences, 59-35, on Tuesday night at Morgan Arena.
The Wildcats (2-22, 1-18 CACC) fell behind early and were unable to recover, heading into the halftime break down 31-18 before shooting 20.8 percent in the second half. USciences (17-10, 13-6 CACC) wrapped up the fourth seed in the South Division and will head to Felician for a CACC Quarterfinal matchup on Saturday.
Trailing 4-3 in the early going, the Devils used a 26-4 run to grab its biggest lead of the first half at the 5:51 mark, and take control of the game. UScience' Becca Ruggear scored 12 of the Devils 26 points during the run.
Wilmington didn't roll over at the end of the half however, as the Wildcats responded with an 11-2 run over their own to cut it to a 13 point deficit heading into the locker room. Erin Moore tallied six points during the stretch while Courtney Coleman chipped in with four points.
But the Devils came out of the halftime break and outscored the Wildcats 18-4 in the first nine minutes of the half to take a strangle hold on the contest. USciences took their biggest lead of the game on a layup by Brianne Traub with 5:05 left to play in regulation, to lead 55-27. The home team would eventually go on to win 59-35 to head into the playoffs.
Moore and Lauren Brown led the Wildcats with seven points each while Candace DeShields and Coleman finished with six points apiece. Moore also finished with a team-high nine rebounds in the loss. Wilmington shot 12-for-51 on the night, including 2-for-9 from beyond the three-point arc.
Ruggear tallied a double-double, scoring 21 points, collecting 15 rebounds, and blocking six shots for the Devils. Traub was the only other in double-digit scoring, finishing with 12 points. Sarah Hickman gathered 10 boards for USciences, also scoring four points and dishing out four assists. The Devils shot 24-for-61 from the field, but only went 1-for-14 from three-point territory.
In her final game as a Wildcat, Candace Phrance added five points and picked up two rebounds. She also blocked two shots on the night and has led the team in blocked shots both years while wearing the Green and White.