(Portions Courtesy of Wilmington University Sports Information)
NEW CASTLE, DE- The Georgian Court University basketball squad snapped its eight-game losing streak and earned its first CACC road victory since 2/9/10 (University of the Sciences) as the Lions dropped host-Wilmington University Thursday evening, 69-50.
Wilmington (1-13, 0-9 CACC), losers of 12 straight, had the deficit as close as nine points with three minutes remaining, but couldn’t get any closer as Georgian Court (3-16, 2-10 CACC) made 10 of its final 12 free-throws to close out the contest.
The Wildcats' Samantha Retas (Fr.-Brooklyn, NY) hit the team’s first three-pointer of the game with 5:51 remaining to cut the deficit to 11 at 48-37, and Kim Walton (So.-Woodbridge, VA) hit a jumper on the next possession to cut it to nine points for the first time since 1:30 into the second half. Cari Callaway (Fr.-Newark, DE) had a toe on the line on a long two-pointer at the 4:54 mark, cutting the Lions’ lead to nine once again.
Back came Georgian Court however, gathering two offensive rebounds on the following possession and put home the third chance to slice any momentum. Megan Fox’s (Fr.-Woodbury, NJ) layup with 4:10 to play cut it to nine again, 52-43, but a wide open layup off the hand of Walton rimmed out, deflating the home team. The Lions’ Christina White( got another offensive rebound at the other end, putting home the board for the four-point swing. Callaway hit another long jumper, cutting the visitor’s lead to nine for the final time.
From there, the Lions hit 10 of their next 12 foul shots, and put the final nail in the coffin with a three-pointer from the corner to take a 63-48 lead with 1:19 showing on the clock.
GCU's Ryan McGrath had a perfect night shooting the basketball as she went 3-for-3 from three-point land and sank all four of her free throw attempts for a team-leading 13 points in 15 minutes off the bench. Tahira Matthews and Ebony Sellers followed with 12 points apiece. Chinyere Ozuzu led the Lions with eight boards.
The Wildcats shot 18-for-59 for the game and was led by Walton’s 11 points while Courtney Coleman (So.-Richmond, VA) contributed 10 off the bench. Retas grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and four steals. Wilmington shot 6-for-29 in the first half, but bounced back and found a rhythm by shooting 12-for-30 to close out the game.
Georgian Court committed 39 turnovers for the game but picked the pockets of the Wildcats 21 times. The Lions shot 22-for-47 for the night, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. They also held the advantage on the foul line, going 22-for-37 from the stripe.
The Lions look to make it two straight Saturday afternoon when they visit Nyack College (1-13, 1-8 CACC) Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 PM contest.
