KUTZTOWN, Pa. - - The Wilmington University women's basketball team only allowed 47 points through the final three quarters, but it was a huge 33-point first quarter that allowed Kutztown to take an 80-57 nonconference game on Monday night at Keystone Arena.
The final three quarters played to a 47-41 game in favor of the Golden Bears (3-2), as the Wildcats (0-6) won the second quarter, 12-7, and were only outscored in the second half by 11 points.
Kutztown opened the game with a blistering 33-point first quarter, shooting 72 percent from the field and 5-for-7 from three to seize control. Wilmington responded by settling in defensively, holding the Golden Bears to just seven points in the second period and winning several stretches of play throughout the middle quarters. Sparkle Leigh hit back-to-back buckets before Mya Nisbet hit a three-pointer to bring the Wildcats to within 11 halfway through the second quarter. Emma Brown ended the quarter with a three-pointer, sending the Wildcats into the locker room trailing by 12.
The Wildcats trimmed the deficit to single digits early in the third following a Mya Nisbet three-pointer to start the scoring and two free throws from Reynah Ratliff, capping an 8–0 spanning the halftime break. Rattliff's two from the line brought the Wildcats to within 40-33, but Kutztown's perimeter shooting — 17 made threes on the night — rebuilt the gap, including back-to-back to stop the run and regain a 13-point lead. Buckets from Nisbet and Rattliff had the Wildcats to within nine points again with 6:16 to play in the third, but then the Golden Bears ran off a 15-5 run to end the quarter, including a final three-pointer with 5 seconds left to make it a 19-point game.
The Wildcats got it as close as 13 points with an Emma Brown layup, 61-38, but the Golden Bears extended the lead out to as many as 24 points in the quarter before settling on the final score, 80-57.
Rattliff led Wilmington with 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and three steals, orchestrating much of the Wildcats' offense. Nisbet added 14 points, knocking down four three-pointers, while Emma Brown contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Sparkle Leigh chipped in eight points and five boards, and TyKeisha Hill anchored the post with seven points and eight rebounds.
The Wildcats have two more Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchups this week, starting with Jefferson on the road on Wednesday night before returning home to take on Felician on Saturday.