Wilmington, Del. - The Georgian Court University women's basketball team tallied its first win of the 2018-19 campaign in stellar fashion Tuesday night as the Lions outlasted Goldey-Beacom College, 88-84, to secure the always-important divisional victory.
Georgian Court improves to 1-7 (1-0 CACC) while the hometown Lightning slip to 4-5 (0-1 CACC) In what marked the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opener for both squads.
In a high-scoring opening frame, GBC outscored the Lions, 25-20, before the visitors unloaded with a 24-14 countering in the second to provide GCU with a five-point surplus (44-39) heading into the intermission. Georgian Court sizzled from the floor in the first half, shooting 18-of-30 (60%).
The Lions would lead by as many as nine on three separate occasions in the third quarter, culminating with a 52-43 advantage at the 7:18 mark. Goldey-Beacom responded in a big way as the Lightning launched a massive 27-8 surge to swing the lead to the home side (70-60) heading into the fourth-and-final stanza.
An
Alexis Stubblefield (Jr.-Woodbridge, Va.) layup at 9:31 bumped the lead to 72-60 for Goldey-Beacom, and a jumper from
Tanner Turner-Rush (Sr.-Harrisburg, Pa.) provided the Lightning with a seemingly comfortable nine-point cushion (83-74) with only 3:22 to go.
GCU proceeded to rip off a stunning 14-1 run over the final three-plus minutes to leave the Goldey-Beacom faithful dumbfounded, while escaping the First State with its first win of the year.
Jada Atchison paced the victors with a season-high 26 points on the night, going 10-for-14 from the field.
Nerea Brajac and
Destiny Thompson followed with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while
Ivona Krakic buried 11 of her own in the triumph.
Safiyyah Lee controlled 14 boards to go along with nine points.
Carna Prokic also netted nine points while dishing six assists.
The Lions finished with an electrifying field goal percentage of 60.7% for the game, shooting a collective 34-for-56 from the floor.
Amanda McGrogan (Jr.-Mount Laurel, N.J.) registered 23 points in the Lightning setback.
Alanna Speaks (So.-Dover, Del.) added 14 points while Turner-Rush authored a double-double consisting of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Stubblefield provided 12 points and five helpers in the effort.
Georgian Court looks to make it two in a row this Saturday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. non-conference road contest at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y.
