Lakewood, N.J.- The Georgian Court University women's basketball squad, after leading by as many as 10 points in the first half, squandered a 42-37 halftime advantage as visiting Wilmington University clawed its way to an 83-73 CACC road victory Saturday afternoon in the GCU Wellness Center.
After ending a closely-contested first quarter with a 19-17 advantage, the Lions (2-8, 0-6 CACC) piled on the points in the second session, busting open a 31-21 lead with 5:09 to go before intermission, courtesy of a mighty 10-0 run over the previous 3:21. The Wildcats (4-6, 2-1 CACC) sliced that deficit in half by closing out the quarter with a 16-11 spurt heading into the locker room.
GCU would bump its surplus up to six points (49-43) 3:20 into the third period before Wilmington left the Lions dazed with an 11-0 takeover, providing the visitors a 54-49 lead with 2:58 left in the stanza. The Wildcats would go ahead by as many as 15 points in the final frame, taking a 71-56 lead with 8:16 to go.
"With our point guard,
Jada Atchison, finally back in the lineup, we finally had a few bright moments on offense," said GCU Head Coach,
Jazz Perazic. "The excitement was visible early in the game, but we again failed to maintain poise on defense and on offense. We gave away too many loose balls and crucial offensive rebounds.We must improve our mental toughness. We have work to do. I have to get better, we will get it done."
Four Wilmington players would drop double-digits on the Lions in the victory, lead by
Jasmine Lee's (Sr.-Chestertown, Md.) team-best 21 points.
LaShyra Williams (Jr.-Seaford, Del.) added 20 of her own while
Jamiere Jefferies (Fr.-Germantown, Md.) and
Emma Matthews (Jr.-Smyrna, Del.) added 10 apiece.
Georgian Court's
Alliyah Berger tied her season-best with a game-high 29 points, the senior's fourth 20+-point effort this year.
Destiny Thompson provided 13 points and a team-leading eight rebounds while
Jaelyn Tweedy drained three three-pointers in the setback.
The Lions will next return to the hardwood on Sunday, December 18 when GCU hosts Lock Haven University at 1:00 p.m. in non-conference play.
