NEWARK, Del. - - An off shooting afternoon harmed the Wilmington University women's basketball team as it dropped a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference cross divisional contest to Dominican, 60-52, on Sunday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Wildcats (6-10, 3-4 CACC) took 14 more shots and out-rebounded the Chargers (2-13, 2-4 CACC), 47-37, but only hit 28.8 percent of their shots in dropping the conference game.
The lid was closed on the attacking basket from the very beginning for the Wildcats, has they found themselves down early, shooting only 6-of-20 from the floor for the game in the first quarter. They were able to outscore the Chargers, 11-9, in the second quarter, but still had trouble finding the bottom of the net, shooting just 21.1 percent from the floor. The teams were tied at the halftime break, 24-24.
The third quarter proved to be the game-changer for the Chargers, as they started the second half on a 15-3 run, grabbing a 39-27 lead with 3:20 left. Another Charger three-pointer gave the visitors their largest lead of the game at 44-31 with 151 left in the quarter. The Wildcats scored eight of the final 10 points of the quarter however, capped by a Jocelyn Rodriguez three-pointer at the buzzer to bring the home team to within seven points, 46-39, heading into the fourth.
Macy Robinson finally put the Wildcats on the board in the fourth with a three-pointer with 6:47 left, but the Wildcats couldn't get any closer than to within eight points in the final quarter. The Chargers had an answer for every Wildcats bucket, as Jasmine Lee brought the game to a score of 57-49 with 2:14 to play with a pair from the foul line, but the Chargers answered right back with two free throws of their own.
LaShyra Williams made a tough jumper with 1:12 to play to again bring the Wildcats to within eight points. The Wildcats than got a defensive stop at the other end, but Lee was off the mark on the offensive side in trying to get the Wildcats any closer in the final minute. The Chargers were able to run out the clock from that point forward.
Ebonee Dixon came off the bench to score 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, adding five points from the foul line. She was the lone Wildcat to reach double digits on Sunday. Freshman Jamiere Jefferies grabbed a season's best 15 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive glass. She also put in eight points and two assists. Williams also grabbed double digit rebounds, finishing with 10 to go with eight points and four assists.
The Wildcats have little time to think about the loss, as they head to Bloomfield for another CACC cross-divisional contest on Tuesday night. The Wildcats and Bears will start their battle at 5:30 p.m. in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
