NEWARK, Del. - - A seven-point advantage in the third quarter propelled Queens College to a 65-47 nonconference victory over the Wilmington University women's basketball team on Tuesday night at the WU Athletics Complex.
Queens (1-2) turned 32 Wilmington (0-6) turnovers into 34 points at the other end, including fastbreak opportunities at the end of the first three quarters to thwart any momentum the Wildcats were building.
Queens took an early 13-point lead in the first quarter, but the Wildcats used a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 18-12 after an Aniyah Bond three-pointer. But a turnover and fastbreak layup in the closing seconds pushed the Knights' lead out to 20-12 at the end of the quarter.
The Knights pushed the lead out to 16 points in the second quarter before the Wildcats fought back with three three-pointers, two by Bond, to cut the deficit to 31-24 with 1:36 to play in the half. But a free throw and then a turnover under their own basket and a layup before the buzzer saw the Knights go into the locker room with a 34-24 lead.
The Wildcats started the third quarter with back-to-back buckets to close to within 34-28, but the Knights went on an 11-3 run to open a 14-point lead,45-31. An Armani Bell-Jackson three-pointer cut the deficit to 11, but then the Knights scored the final six-points of the third quarter, including back-to-back layups with under 10 seconds, to take a 51-34 lead into the final quarter.
A quick 6-0 run gave the Knights their largest lead of the night, 59-38, and the Wildcats could only get to within as few as 18 the rest of the fourth quarter.
Aniyah Bond led the Wildcats in scoring 17 points on 5-of-8 from three-point land and 2-of-2 from the foul line. Armani Bell-Jackson scored 14 points off the bench, shooting 5-of-11 from the floor. Jasmine McDuffie scored eight points to go with eight rebounds while Emma Brown grabbed seven rebounds. Tianna Neal scored five points and added five rebounds and a block.
The Wildcats hit the road for their next contest, traveling to West Virginia to take on Shepherd on Sunday afternoon. The opening tip is set for 4:00 p.m. in Shepherdstown.
