LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - A poor shooting night by the Wilmington University women's basketball team led to a 60-42 defeat at Georgian Court on Thursday in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action at the Wellness Center.
Wilmington (2-20, 1-16 CACC) got 14 points apiece from Courtney Coleman and Megan Fox, but shot just 22.6 percent from the floor in the loss. Georgian Court (6-19, 5-13 CACC) had nine different players score in the game and took 63 of its 66 shots from inside the three-point arc.
The Wildcats got to the foul line a total of 23 times in the game, and used it to their advantage. They shot 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) as a team, compared to the Lions' 3-for-10 performance on their end.
Two of those free throws allowed the Wildcats to cut the deficit to eight points with 4:37 left to play in regulation, but Georgian Court used a 10-0 run to end the game and bring the final score to rest.
Starting the second half down by 15 points, the Wildcats got to within single digits on four different occasions, but could only get as close as seven points before Georgian Court put an end to every rally.
After the Lions' Brianey Winslow hit a three-pointer, the only one of the game for the home team, 15-seconds into the second half to make it a 33-18 game, the 'Cats went on a 10-2 run over the next five minutes to get within seven points. Megan Fox and Candace Phrance poured in to buckets each on the run while Cari Callaway also added a layup.
But the Lions responded with a 5-0 run of their own to retake a double digit lead and again thwart any momentum the visitors had. It would go this way for the remainder of the game with the Lions countering every run the Wildcats threw at them.
Fox and Coleman each made three baskets, but made their trips to the line count. Fox shot 3-for-7 from the floor and got over half her points from the charity stripe, shooting 8-for-9 from the foul line for the game. Coleman shot 3-for-9 off the bench, but went a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. Erin Moore picked up seven rebounds off the bench for the Wildcats while Kathryn Franklin added six boards, also off the bench.
Brittany Baker led the Lions with 20 points on 10-for-14 shooting, and added a double-double by grabbing 14 rebounds. Tahira Matthews also scored in double figures, tallying 11 points but needing 15 shots to score her 11 points.
Wilmington shot 12-for-53 for the game, including 2-for-9 from three-point territory while the Lions poured in 28 of their 66 shots for a 42.4 percentage.
The Wildcats return to the Pratt Center on Saturday for their final home game of the 2011-12 season, and will honor Phrance, the teams' lone senior, prior to the tip for senior day. The game is slated to start at 1 p.m.