Newark, Del. (Jan. 10, 2023) - Savawn Hughes came up huge for Georgian Court Women's Basketball. Her three-pointer in the closing seconds turned a 51-50 deficit into a 53-51 lead and eventual 54-51 win. Georgian Court trailed by eight at the half, led by seven in the fourth, and thanks to Hughes' heroics earned a hard-fought 54-51 win.

How it Happened
• Wilmington outshot the Lions 36%-33.3%, but the Lions made three more triples than the Wildcats.
• GCU also made six more free throws, going 11-15 at the line while Wilmington was 5-6.
• Wilmington held a big advantage on the glass, 44-36 in the rebounding department. They also came up with 16 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points.
• Each team turned the ball over more than 10 times in the first half. That number dropped in the second and GCU finished with 15 giveaways and the Wildcats 19. 
• Neither team got off to a strong start. A free throw from Paula Perez-Fabregas and a layup from A'nya Harper gave the Lions a 3-0 lead. It stayed that way until the 6:28 mark when Wilmington scored their first points.
• Wilmington was able to get on top by four in the final minute. Leah Snisky put in a layup with 28 seconds to make it a 10-8 game, but just before the buzzer, Wilmington nailed a jumper to take a 12-8 lead after one.
• That jumper started a 9-0 Wilmington run as they took a 19-8 lead. Savawn Hughes made a layup to stop the Wildcat scoring stretch and suddenly both teams started to get hot.
• Hughes scored five straight at one point, but Wilmington was there to answer and at the break extended their lead to eight, 27-19. 
• Wilmington started the scoring in the second half with a pair of free throws, but after that it was all Georgian Court. They outscored the Wildcats 19-4 the rest of the frame. Tian Addison gave the Lions their first lead since the first quarter with a pair of free throws to make it 34-33.
• GCU pushed that lead to as much as five, 38-33, ending the quarter with a jumper from Hughes.
• In the fourth quarter, Jariah Patterson extended the lead to seven, 43-36, with a jumper and a three pointer on back-to-back possessions. Wilmington though responded with seven straight, tying the game at 43.
• Trailing again by two, 45-43, the Wildcats scored four straight to lead 47-45. That lead was quickly evaporated when Tian Addison buried a three-pointer to take the lead right back. At the three minute mark, Addison made it a three-point game, 50-47 sinking a pair of free throws.
• The Wildcats again answered with a 4-0 run and with 52 seconds left reclaimed a 51-50 lead at Fatou Ndao collected her own rebound and stuck the layup for the lead.
• After GCU came up empty on the other end, a turnover gave the Lions the ball back with 38 seconds left to play. Addison drove to the basket and kicked to an open Hughes in the corner who whacked her third three of the game to put the Lions back in front, 53-51, with just 15 seconds left.
• The Lion defense held following a Wildcat timeout and Hughes hit one more at the free throw line with under one full second left to play to bring us to the 54-51 final.

It Was Over When...
• After Savawn Hughes gave the Lions the lead back with a big time three-pointer, Wilmington tried to answer with a three of their own in the closing seconds, but the ball clanked off the rim and into Hughes' arms and the Wildcats never got another shot.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Savawn Hughes led the way scoring 21 points with three three-pointers and 10 rebounds for a double-double.
• Jariah Patterson was 5-9 from the floor for 11 points.
• Tian Addison scored 11 as well with six rebounds and four assists.
• A'nya Harper grabbed six rebounds and chipped in four points.

For the Wildcats
• Fatou Ndao finished with a double-double as well with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
• Amber Washington was a rebound-shy of her own double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
• Jade Roberts scored 10 points.
• Daja Claiborne added eight points with seven rebounds. 

News and Notes
• This is the third time this season Hughes has reached the 20 point mark.
• Jariah Patterson scored her 100th career point.
• The six points the Lions allowed in the third quarter match a season-low. 
• Georgian Court committed just five fouls the entire game. That their fewest in at least the last seven seasons. 
• This is the Lions first conference win of the season and first win on the road.

Up Next
• Georgian Court returns home Saturday as they play a CACC cross-division game against Caldwell. Tip off is scheduled for 12 p.m. as a part of a doubleheader with the Lion men.