Newark, Del.- The Georgian Court University women's basketball squad traveled south Wednesday evening to Wilmington University for a good ol' Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) cat fight as the host-Wildcats downed the Lions, 89-82, in a high-energy divisional showdown.
GCU (3-18, 1-13 CACC) escaped the initial quarter with a slim 24-21 advantage after shooting 50% (10-20) from the floor. Wilmington (10-12, 7-6 CACC) countered in the second period by outscoring its guest, 28-20, as the Wildcats strutted into intermission with a 49-44 lead after connecting on nearly 58% of their shots (11-19) in the frame.
The Lions narrowed the home team lead to one point after taking the third quarter by a 20-16 margin. Unfortunately for GCU, Wilmington turned on the afterburners over the final 10 minutes as the Wildcats compiled a game-high, eight-point surplus (85-77) with just 2:03 remaining in regulation.
"(We were) better, but not good enough," stated GCU Head Coach
Jazz Perazic. "(We are) still missing communication on the defensive end. We knew that Wilmington is a team we can play with and have a legitimate chance of beating, but we would have to take care of the ball, hustle, and go after loose balls in defense. "
Kaitlyn Lister had another great showing. Pretty amazing how she is coming to her own; she just plays hard and has no fear. Her play has been a highlight and something to celebrate even in a loss."
Georgian Court's
Alliyah Berger topped all scorers in the effort, netting 26 points while shooting 10-22 from the floor and 4-6 from three-point land. The aforementioned Lister drained a career-best 19 points and grabbed a team-high nine boards.
Jada Atchison added a jolt to the offense with her 13 points and seven helpers while
Jaelyn Tweedy reached double-digits with her 10 points.
Three Wildcats registered 20 or more points in the triumph, led by
LaShyra Williams' (Jr.-Seaford, Del.) 25 points.
Jasmine Lee (Sr.-Chestertown, Md.) and
Macy Robinson (So.-Wilmington, Del.) contributed 24 and 20 points, respectively, while
Ebonee Dixon (Jr.-Baltimore, Md.) and
Jocelyn Rodriguez (Sr.-Wilmington, Del.) drained 10 apiece.
GCU stays on the road as the Lions head to Caldwell University this Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. conference contest.
