Copyright 2016; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. File photo of Jasmine Lee against Bowie State, taken by Sara LeBrun.
LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - A big third quarter changed the momentum in favor of the Wilmington University women's basketball team, defeating Georgian Court on the road, 83-73, in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action in the Wellness Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (4-6, 2-1 CACC) were trailing 42-37 at the halftime break, but the visitors came out of the locker room and shot 55 percent to outscore the Lions, 28-14, to turn the game around. The lead grew to as large as 15 points in the fourth quarter before settling on the final score.
The Lions came out of the gates and shot 48.5 percent in the first half, hitting three three-pointers in the second quarter. The home team grew a 10-point lead as late as 5:09 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats scored the final three points of the quarter to head into the halftime break trailing 42-37.
Jocelyn Rodriguez sparked an 11-0 run midway through the third quarter to take the lead. Rodriguez hit a jumper with 6:17 led before Jasmine Lee scored five straight for the Wildcats. Jamiere Jefferies aided in the run with a layup before Lee put the Wildcats ahead 54-49 with the final bucket of the run with 2:58 left in the quarter. The Wildcats never relinquished the lead again.
Emma Matthews hit a three-pointer from the corner before scoring on fastbreak layup to put the Wildcats ahead 61-54. LaShyra Williams hit a jumper before Rodriguez finished the quarter with a pair of free throws to give the Wildcats a 65-56 lead after three quarters of play.
The Wildcats continued the run into the fourth quarter, scoring the first six points to expand the lead out to as many as 71-56 with 8:16 to play in regulation. The Lions clawed back to as few as seven points over the final minutes, but the Wildcats held them off to pick up the CACC victory.
Lee came off the bench to score 21 points in 31 minutes. She shot 8-of-11 from the floor while hitting two three-pointers. Williams added 20 points as well, hitting 6-of-12 from the floor while adding 8-of-10 from the foul line. She also contributed six rebounds, two steals and an assist in 33 minutes of action.
Matthews and Rodriguez grabbed a team high nine rebounds each while Matthews scored 10 points while hitting two three-pointers. Rodriguez scored six points while dishing out three assists as well. Jefferies was the final Wildcat in double digits, scoring 10 points off the bench.
The Wildcats will look to continue their CACC success next week when they head to Chestnut Hill on Thursday night with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off in Philadelphia.