NEWARK, Del. - - A big third quarter allowed Felician to pull away from the Wilmington University women's basketball team, 87-61, on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
Leading by 12 points at the halftime break, Felician (5-2, 3-0 CACC) came out and won the third quarter, 29-17, to open the game wide-open. The Wildcats' bench outscored the Golden Falcons bench, 25-18, in the game.
Sparkle Leigh hit a turnaround jumper in the pain and then Tianna Neal put in an offensive putback, tying the game, 6-6. A 7-0 Golden Falcon run, capped by a three-pointer put the Golden Falcons up by eight points. Layups from TyKeisha Hill and Armani Bell-Jackson cut the deficit to five, 18-13, at the end of the first quarter.
Felician took their first double-digit lead, 26-16, with 6:03 to play in the second quarter. They led by as many as 13 points in the quarter, with layups from Sparkle Leigh and Armani Bell-Jackson bringing the Wildcats to within 36-28, with 1:08 left on the clock. But a layup, steal and another layup in the final 27 seconds sent the Golden Falcons into the break leading, 40-28, winning the second quarter, 22-15.
Reynah Rattliff hit a three-pointer to bring the Wildcats to within 10 points early in the third quarter, but then Felician took over, going on an 11-0 run. The Golden Falcons led, 52-31, with 7:07 to play in the quarter and then used another 8-0 run in the frame to take a 28-point lead, 60-32. Mya Nisbet hit a three-pointer and Sparkle Leigh made one from the foul line to end the quarter, bringing the Wildcats to within 24, 69-45.
Felician took their largest lead of the night with 4:40 to play, 82-50. The Wildcats scored the final six points of the game, getting free throws from Armani Bell-Jackson, Kenzie Richard, Brennah Scott, and Bell-Jackson again.
Armani Bell-Jackson led the Wildcats with 16 points off the bench. Sparkle Leigh scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, adding three rebounds and two steals as well. Reynah Rattliff scored nine points, adding three rebounds and three assists. Emma Brown added eight points to go with four rebounds. Tianna Neal led the Wildcats with five rebounds.
Felician scored 48 points in the paint, scoring 30 points off 22 Wilmington turnovers.
The Wildcats remain at home for their next contest, hosting crosstown rival Goldey-Beacom on Tuesday night at the WU Athletics Complex. The women start the CACC doubleheader with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.
