WILMINGTON, Del. - - A big second-quarter run allowed Goldey-Beacom to pull away from the Wilmington University women's basketball team on Tuesday night, taking the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference crosstown matchup, 89-69, inside the Joseph West Jones Center.
The Wildcats (1-21, 0-14 CACC) held an 18-17 lead towards the end of the first quarter, but the Lightning (5-16, 5-9 CACC) scored 18 of the next 20 points in the game, taking control of the contest. Emma Brown led the Wildcats with her second straight and sixth double-double of the season.
The first quarter was dominated by Emma Brown and TyKeisha Hill. Brown scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, while Hill added six points and four rebounds. TyKeisha Hill gave the Wildcats their first lead, 8-7, with a layup, and then back-to-back layups from Brown and Sparkle Leigh tied it at 12-12. Brown then had an offensive putback to give the Wildcats a 14-12 lead, before four straight put the Wildcats up, 18-17, with 1:17 left in the quarter. The Lightning finished off the frame with a jumper, taking a 19-18 lead into the second quarter.
That bucket spurred an 18-2 run into the second quarter, as Wilmington went cold from the floor, shooting 1-of-12 with six turnovers. The Lightning gained a 35-20 lead before Reynah Rattliff snapped the run with a jumper with 2:43 left before the half. That would spark an 8-5 run for the Wildcats to close the half with a wide-open layup from Tianna Neal to cap the scoring and make it a 40-28 game at the halftime break.
Wilmington came out of the break with one of its best offensive quarters of the season, scoring 25 points in the third. But Goldey-Beacom kept up with the Wildcats, as Wilmington struggled to get stops to dwindle the deficit. The Wildcats scored the first four points, cutting it to an eight-point game. The Lightning answered with an 8-0 run of their own, and the Wildcats could only get back to within 10 points once the rest of the way, a Sparkle Leigh layup with 47 seconds left, 63-53.
Goldey-Beacom used a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to thwart any thought of a Wilmington comeback. They took as large as a 25-point lead in the quarter before settling on the 89-69 victory.
Emma Brown collected her sixth double-double with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, adding 12 rebounds and two blocked shots. TyKeisha Hill scored 12 points with nine rebounds and two assists. Sparkle Leigh scored six points with six rebounds while Reynah Rattliff added seven points, four rebounds, and four assists.
The Wildcats return home for their next contest, welcoming Caldwell to the WU Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon. The opening tip is set for 12:00 p.m. in Newark.