Copyright 2016; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. 

NEWARK, Del. - - A strong start to the fourth quarter allowed Holy Family to escape with a 76-64 victory over the Wilmington University women's basketball, cutting the Wildcats' season short and eliminating them from Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament contention in the season finale at the WU Athletics Complex on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats' season comes to a close with a 14-14 overall record, and a 9-10 mark in the CACC. The team needed to beat Holy Family (21-7, 16-3 CACC) and have Chestnut Hill fall to Philadelphia in order to secure the fourth seed in the South Division. Wilmington cut their halftime deficit in half, 54-50, to close the third quarter down, but ran out of steam in the fourth.

Tuesday was Senior Night for five Wildcats, but the third quarter was a stage for one particular senior and Tenicia Spence put on a show. In the final five minutes of the quarter, Spence hit four three-pointers with the first one bringing the Wildcats to within 45-39. Another three-pointer with 2:14 to play brought the Wildcats to within 48-44, before back-to-back threes to end the quarter had the Wildcats to within 54-50.

But the hot streak ended as the quarter came to a close and Spence missed the first jumper of the fourth quarter that would have had the Wildcats to within a single bucket. Still holding close at 58-53, The Wildcats committed back-to-back turnovers, which resulted in a quick 6-0 spurt for the Tigers and a 64-53 lead with 5:54 left in regulation.

Fellow senior Ashri Broadwater laid one in to have the Wildcats down 68-59, but a dagger three-pointer by the Tigers extended their lead out to 12 points with 2:54 to play.

Spence shot 5-of-5 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc for 14 points in the third quarter alone. She finished with a game-high 27 points, hitting seven three-pointers on the night, second most in a single game in program history. She shot 9-of-17 from the floor, hitting 7-of-11 from deep.

Classmates Ashri Broadwater and Lindsay Bradford also added double figures, as Broadwater added 11 points and Bradford finished with 10 points and four more blocked shots. Auryonah Nash and Katara Pressley were also honored during pregame for their collegiate career with the Wildcats.

The 14-14 overall record is the best season since the Wildcats went 15-13 overall in the 2009-10 season. The nine CACC wins are the also the most since the Wildcats went 12-7 in conference place in the 2009-10 season.