NEW CASTLE, Del - - A slow start and a stifling Holy Family defense led to an 83-24 Wilmington University women's basketball letdown on Tuesday night, as the teams squared off in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference at the Pratt Center
After coming off its first win in 17 games, the Wildcats (2-19, 1-15 CACC) couldn't keep the momentum from Saturday and scored only six points in the opening 20 minutes of play. CACC South Division leaders Holy Family (19-7, 15-2 CACC) kept its foot on the throat of the conference with the victory.
Deemed a down year for the perennial powerhouse, Holy Family has seven losses on the season but left the Pratt Center with its sixth straight victory and its 12th in the Tigers last 13 games.
The Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 lead and their pressuring defense didn't allow the Wildcats to score a point until the 16:45 mark of the first half. The Wildcats were held without a basket until Lauren Brown sank a tough layup with 16:06 showing on the board.
Holy Family continued to swarm the ball after each made basket, using a 28-0 outburst to take a commanding 30-3 lead with 8:38 remaining in the half. Brown ended the drought with her lone three-pointer of the game with 5:53 to play. But that would be all the scoring the Wildcats would see in the half, as the Tigers rattled off another 11-0 run to end the half.
The Tigers did not keep their foot off the pedal to open the second stanza, coming out of the locker room and back on the run. The largest lead of the game came off Katie Duma's final layup, with 1:08 left in the game. Courtney Coleman put in the final bucket of the game, settling the final score at 83-24 with 13 seconds on the board.
Brown and Cari Callaway led the Wildcats with six points each, while Coleman and Candace DeShields chipped in with four each. Erin Moore and Megan Fox added two points apiece for the home team. Candace Phrance finished with a team-high nine rebounds while Kathryn Franklin grabbed five boards.
The Tigers had three in double figures, but collected points from 11 out of 12 players that saw the court. Duma led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Mary Ellen McCollum and Maggie Serratelli who added 13 points each. Duma finished with a double-double, collecting 14 rebounds while Erin Mann grabbed 11 boards.
The Tigers outshot the Wildcats, 49.2 percent to 20 percent. Holy Family hit seven of its 22 three-point attempts, while the home team shot 1-for-12 from downtown.
Wilmington will look to rebound this Thursday as they travel to Georgian Court for a 6 p.m. start. The Wildcats hold an 11-4 all-time series lead over the Lions since 2004-05.