NEWARK, Del. - - A 30-point second quarter carried Bowie State to a 72-56 nonconference victory over the Wilmington University women's basketball team on Monday evening at the WU Athletics Complex.
Neither team particularly shot the ball well on Monday night, with both teams coming back after games on Saturday. But the Bulldogs (4-0) remained perfect by outscoring the Wildcats (2-3), 30-17, in the second quarter to take a 17-point lead into the halftime break.
The Wildcats assisted on 14 of their 21 made baskets, but the Bulldogs turned 20 Wilmington turnovers into 25 points, as compared o the Wildcats' 15 points off 16 Bulldog turnovers. The Bulldogs also outscored the Wildcats in the paint, 30-26, and second chance points, 16-11.
After the Bulldogs opened the game with a 15-11 advantage in the first quarter, they came out and shot 58.8 percent from the floor, including a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line in the second quarter to seize the momentum.
Bowie State came out and scored the first seven points of the second quarter, en route to a 16-4 run for a 31-15 lead. Macy Robinson closed the quarter by hitting three three-pointers for the Wildcats, but the Bulldogs hit a late jumper to take a 45-27 lead into the locker room.
The Bulldogs took their first 20-point advantage with 5:01 left in the third quarter, as Kiara Colston hit a three-pointer, 54-33. The Wildcats charged back with a 10-4 run of their own to cut the deficit to 58-43 with 1:38 left in the quarter, but the Bulldogs closed out the stanza with the final six points of the quarter for the 64-43 lead after three.
Bowie State scored the first two points of the fourth quarter for their largest lead of the game, 66-43, before Ebonee Dixon sparked an 8-0 run for the Wildcats. She put home an offensive rebound opportunity before Nyree Grant made back-to-back layups. Robinson capped the 8-0 run with another layup, cutting the Wildcats deficit to 66-51 with 5:13 showing on the clock. LaShyra Williams brought the Wildcats to as close as 14-points with a pair of free throws, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the game.
Robinson hit four three-pointers to lead the Wildcats with 16 points and six rebounds while Grant came off the bench to score 12. Williams and Jadyn Whitsitt chipped in with 10 points each. Williams led all Wildcats with eight rebounds.
After two games in three nights, the Wildcats have seven days off before returning to action on Tuesday, November 28 at Lincoln (Pa.). Tip-off against the Lions is set for 6:00 p.m. in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania.
