NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University women's basketball team hung tough with Lincoln (Pa.), but the Lions pulled away slowly in the second half, giving the Wildcats a 76-68 loss at the WU Athletics Complex on Wednesday night.
The 68 points are the most in a game for the Wildcats since they defeated PSU-Brandywine on February 17, 2025, and prior to that since they scored 69 points on February 10, 2024, at Post.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Mya Nisbet and Reynah Rattliff gave the Wildcats an early 6-4 lead. Emma Brown had an offensive putback and Sparkle Leigh added two from the line and the Wildcats had their biggest lead of the game, 10-4, with 7:21 left in the first. TyKeisha Hill made a jumper with 1:50 left in the quarter as the Wildcats regained a 17-16 lead but then the Lions converted an old-fashioned three-point play, taking a 19-17 lead into the second quarter.
Armani Bell-Jackson started the second quarter with a three-pointer to give the Wildcats the lead and then back-to-back layups by TyKeisha Hill and Reynah Rattliff pushed the Wildcats lead out to 24-21. The Lions used a 7-0 run to take the lead back, but another Armani Bell-Jackson three-pointer saw the Wildcats take a 30-28 lead with 3:44 to play in the half. The Lions tied it, 32-32, to start another 6-0 run. The Lions took a 36-34 lead into the break.
Layups from Sparkle Leigh and TyKeisha Hill tied the game, 40-40, and then there were two ties and three lead changes until the Lions took the lead for good with a 9-0 run. A final free throw gave the Lions a 52-45 lead before Mya Nisbet hit a jumper to make it a 52-47 game after three quarters.
The Lions started the fourth quarter by scoring the first five points, taking a 57-47 lead. Another Lincoln jumper made it a 64-51 lead with 6:11 to play and then a dagger three-pointer gave the Lions a 72-58 lead with 2:47 left. The Wildcats closed the gap to single digits, getting an old-fashioned three-point play from TyKeisha Hill and a final three-pointer from Mya Nisbet, but it was too little too late, falling by eight, 76-68.
The Wildcats were led by freshman Reynah Rattliff who scored 17 points, adding nine rebounds, and four assists. Mya Nisbet scored 15 points, hitting three three-pointers, adding seven rebounds, and three assists. TyKeisha Hill scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, adding eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Armani Bell-Jackson came off the bench and scored 10 points while grabbing five rebounds.
The Wildcats held the Lions to 26.7 percent shooting from the floor, but were outrebounded, 63-48, including giving up 27 offensive rebounds.
The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host California (Pa.) in another nonconference contest. The opening tip is set for 12:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.
