NEWARK, Del. - - The red hot shooting of the Wilmington University women's basketball team continued on Saturday as the Wildcats used a large third quarter to run past Nyack, 76-68, at the WU Athletics Complex in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference cross-divisional action.
The win is the fifth straight for the Wildcats (11-12, 8-6 CACC), which is the longest winning streak since the 2008-09 team won six straight from January 6 to January 29, 2009. That team went on to reach to the CACC Tournament Championship game that season.
Saturday was the second game in a row and the third in the last four games overall that the Wildcats shot over 50 percent from the field, finishing 29-of-55 (52.7 percent) against Nyack (3-18, 2-13 CACC). The Wildcats got off to a hot start, shooting 10-of-14 in the first quarter, but it was the third quarter in which separated the game score.
Leading 36-27 at the halftime break, the Wildcats distanced themselves by outscoring Nyack 18-8 in the quarter. The Warriors scored the first four points of the third quarter to close the gap to 36-31, and had it as close as 40-33 before the Wildcats took off. Jasmine Lee started a 12-0 run with a jumper as she went on to score six of the 12 points during the streak. Macy Robinson hit a three-pointer to go up 51-33 before Jocelyn Rodriguez capped the run with a free throw. Rodriguez later hit a jumper to give the Wildcats their largest lead of the game, 54-34, and the Wildcats went into the final quarter leading by 19 points.
The Warriors didn't go down easily however, as they put in 33 points in the final quarter, closing the gap to as few as nine points on multiple occasions to make the Wildcats sweat it out. But the Wildcats answered the call and closed out the final two minutes with an even score of 10-10 to hold off the Warriors.
LaShyra Williams shot 7-of-10 from the field and hit 6-of-8 of her free throws for a game-high 21 points while also adding a team-high eight rebounds and four assists. Robinson shot 8-of-14 from the floor for 19 points and Rodriguez finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists, and six steals. Jasmine Lee came off the bench to chip in with 10 points as well.
The defense held the Warriors to 36.1 percent shooting for the day and forced them into 25 turnovers, despite being out-rebounded, 45-31.
The Wildcats remain at home for one more contest, as they will put their five-game winning streak on the line against Holy Family on Tuesday night at the Complex. The opening tip is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
