Press Release by Nathan Foltz
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - The Wilmington University women's basketball team fell to Holy Family on Wednesday by a final score of 72-48 at the Campus Center in Philadelphia in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchup.
The loss moves Wilmington to 0-15 on the year, 0-8 in conference play. Holy Family holds on to their spot at the top of the CACC standings with a perfect 7-0 record.
Wilmington started off slowly, shooting only 2-of-18 from the field in the first quarter to go down 22-5 after the opening ten minutes. After that, though, the Wildcats found a groove, outscoring the Tigers, 21-17, in the second quarter. Wilmington made three of their six three-point attempts in the period, as well as 8-of-18 from the field. Going into halftime, Holy Family led 39-26.
The Wildcats continued playing well into the third quarter, keeping pace with the Tigers' scoring effort. Bene Butler and Samiyah McFarlane made threes on back-to-back possessions towards the end of the quarter, pushing the scoring even for the period at 18. TyKeisha Hill then kept the momentum going to start the fourth with a jumper, and Sparkle Leigh drained two free throws to bring the Wildcats to within nine with plenty of time left.
After a well-timed Tiger timeout, though, the shooting for Wilmington went ice cold over the final eight and a half minutes of play, as Holy Family scored 15 unanswered points to end the game.
Reynah Rattliff, fresh off being named the CACC Rookie of the Week, picked up ten assists, a career high, and became the first Wildcat to hit double digits in helpers this season. There have been 12 other double-digit assist performances in program history, and Rattliff is the first to do so since 2021-22. Emma Brown led the team with 12 rebounds, marking her seventh game of the year in double digits and her second in a row. Bene Butler led all scorers with 11 points coming off the bench, thanks in part to 3-of-6 three-point shooting.
The Wildcats return home for their next game, a 1:00 P.M. matchup with Post on Saturday.