Press Release Written By Sports Information Graduate Intern Mary Kate Rumbaugh
NEWARK, Del. – The Wilmington University women's basketball team would get within one of No. 24 University of the Sciences' lead with 5:01 to play in the fourth, but the Devils would hang on and take a 76-67 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division win Tuesday night at the Complex.
The Wildcats (2-15, 2-7 CACC) hung around all night, but No. 24 USciences (15-3, 8-1) maintained control of the lead for the entire contest.
Down six with 3:38 to play in the first quarter, Kasha Andrews put the Wildcats within three, making it an 11-8 ballgame, before Sabreen Muslim put WilmU within one with under a minute to play, making it 13-12, but USciences would score the final bucket of the quarter to take a three-point lead into the second.
The Devils would stretch their lead to as big as eight in the opening minutes of the second quarter, making it a 20-12 game, before extending it to their largest of the quarter at 14 with 5:36 to go after they would hit one of their 12 made three-pointers in the contest. WilmU would then find some momentum going on an 11-0 run in the next four minutes, thanks to several layups from Sabreen Muslim, and a couple foul shots from Kiara Eubanks, before Kasha Andrews hit a deep ball to make it a 32-29 game. The Devils would end the quarter with two more shots, to take a 37-29 lead into halftime.
USciences would come out into the new half on a 10-3 run, before inching out to their largest lead of the game of 16 with 3:18 to go in the third, making it a 50-34 game. WilmU would score eight more points in the quarter to close it a 55-42 contest going into the final quarter.
Jadyn Whitsitt would spark the Wildcats on a made three-pointer to start a 8-0 run to begin the fourth, before Kiara Eubanks hit her first three of the season to put the Wildcats back within five with 8:22 to play. Wilmington would hold the Devils to just two points in the next 3:18 for them to go on another run, as Eubanks would make four consecutive free throws to put the Wildcats back within one with 5:01 to play.
USciences would not hit their next shot until 4:40 left, but that would spark a run of four straight three-pointers by the Devils, which helped them retain a 69-60 lead with 1:37 to go. Kasha Andrews would hit her fifth three of the contest to bring the lead to within six in the next 18 seconds, but the Devils would go to the line and make 7-8 of their free throws in the final 54 seconds to hold on for the victory.
WilmU would only outscore the Devils in the final quarter, 25-21, while also shooting 90 percent from the foul line on the night, going 19-21.
Sabreen Muslim would come off the bench and have her second consecutive double-double scoring a new career-high 22 points, while grabbing 15 rebounds. Kiara Eubanks would add 17 points, going a perfect 8-8 from the foul line, with five rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Kasha Andrews would be the third Wildcat in double-figures, scoring 15 points, going 5-10 from behind the arc.
WilmU will be on the road to end the month of January, as they head to Nyack this Saturday for a cross-division matchup. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m.
