NEWARK, Del. - - Carrying a ten point lead with 17:10 remaining in regulation, the Wilmington University women's basketball team let one slip away as Nyack came away with an 78-72 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The loss was the eighth straight for the Wildcats (3-18, 1-13 CACC) as they continue to vie for their first victory of 2013. Freshman Tenicia Spence carried the offensive load for the Wildcats, scoring 25 points while shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the foul line. Junior Lauren Brown chipped in with 17 points and five assists.
The victory snapped a 31-game losing streak for the Warriors (1-19, 1-12 CACC), dating back to January 12, 2012. Nyack dropped its final 12 games last season before starting the year winless through its first 19 games this year. The Warriors were led by Khamari Tellis' game high 26 points as she shot 7-for-12 form the floor and added 11-of 14 from the foul line. Ashley Tallman added 13 points off the bench while Jamie McKeither scored 12 point in the victory.
Looking as though they were going to go into the halftime break with a large lead, the Wildcats had to fight down the stretch of the first stanza to keep the lead at all. Danielle Thomas hit her lone three-pointer of the game to put the home steam up seven with 6:50 to play before a Spence jumper eventually gave the Wildcats a nine point lead with 4:37 left in the first half.
But the Warriors battled back to close the gap before the halftime buzzer, even taking a brief one point lead with 1:07 to play before a pair of free throws from Lauren Brown and a last second steal and fast break layup from Spence gave the Wildcats a three point halftime lead.
The lead continued to grow in the early stages of the second half, as Allison McDonald started the second half off with a move over her left shoulder for a layup before a three-pointer from Spence pushed the lead back out to eight. Four straight free throws from Spence and Tashea Plummer gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the afternoon at 43-33 with 17:10 showing on the clock.
Nyack quickly responded with an 8-0 run of its own over the next 1:16 of game play to pull within two and eventually took the lead for the first time in the second half on a Tellis layup at the 13:05 mark at 47-46.
Another McDonald layup gave the Wildcats the lead back before Taylor Carter hit a runner to tie the game at 52-52 with 10:44 to play. But Tellis responded with a pair of free throws a minute later which proved to be the last lead change of the game. The Warriors extended the lead to as many as nine points on multiple occasions down the stretch before closing out the contest, 78-72.
The 25 point performance from Spence was the freshman's ninth game in which she scored at least 20 points, making it the second highest scoring mark of her young career. She poured in 31 points at Georgian Court on January 15.
The game came down to the foul line, as the Wildcats shot 28-of-38 from the charity stripe. The Warriors allowed the Wildcats to hang around in the second half, only hitting 28-of-42 from the line for the contest.
The Wildcats have a chance to sweep Chestnut Hill for the season in their next contest, as they head to Philadelphia for a midweek CACC matchup with the Griffins. The game is slated for Tuesday, January 5 with a 6 p.m. tip. Wilmington defeated Chestnut Hill 61-60 earlier this season.