NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University women's basketball team held a halftime lead but Bluefield State fought back to take the nonconference battle, 64-36, on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Wildcats led, 21-17, at the halftime break, but the full court press of Bluefield State (5-1) eventually worked its magic against the Wildcats (0-8), coming back in the second half. Bluefield State forced the Wildcats into 33 turnovers in the game, turning into 30 points at the other end for the Big Blue.
Mia Fuller started the scoring for the Wildcats with a deep three-pointer and then Amber Washington struck and the Wildcats were off to a 5-0 start. The Big Blue came back and scored the final 10 points of the first quarter, however, taking a 10-5 lead into the second.
Bluefield State scored first in the second quarter to grow the first half lead to as large as seven points before the Wildcats battled back. Mia Fuller started an 8-0 run for the Wildcats with another three-pointer and a steal and a layup. Trinity Brittingham hit a midrange jumper to take a 13-12 lead with 6:32 to play. Mia Fuller's third three-pointer of the first half gave the Wildcats a 16-14 lead and then another three-pointer from Cha'Nyah Dunston-Mason put the Wildcats up, 19-15, with 3:54 left in the half. Dunston-Mason ended the scoring in the first half with an offensive putback, and the Wildcats went into the break leading, 21-17.
Mia Fuller hit another three-pointer to give the Wildcats a 24-21 lead early in the third quarter, but then the Big Blue rattled off the next 11 points to take a 32-24 lead. Cha'Nyah Dunston-Mason cut the deficit to four-points with a three-pointer and then Amber Washington did the same with two from the foul line, 34-30, with 2:20 to play, but the Big Blue outscored the Wildcats, 7-3, the rest of the way, taking a 41-33 lead into the fourth quarter.
Bluefield State scored the opening 11 points of the fourth quarter, opening the lead out to 52-33. Amber Washington hit a three-pointer with 2:32 to play, but it would be the only points of the quarter for the Wildcats. The Big Blue finished the game by scoring the final 12 points, settling the score at 64-36.
Mia Fuller shot 5-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-7 form deep, to lead the Wildcats with 14 points. Cha'Nyah Dunston-Mason scored 11 points while leading the team with four steals. Amber Washington scored nine points as well. Daja Claiborne finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Wildcats conclude their four-game home stand on Wednesday night, as they welcome NCAA Division I and in-state foe Delaware State to the WU Athletics Complex. The opening tip against the Hornets is set for 7:30 p.m.