NEWARK, Del. - Junior guard
Tianna Smith (Spring Valley, N.Y.) led three Bears players in double-digit scoring Wednesday night as Bloomfield continued their undefeated streak in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play with a 78-73 victory on the road against Wilmington University.
The cross-divisional win pushed the Bears to 7-0 in league action and 11-4 overall on the season. The loss dropped the Wildcats to below .500 on the year overall at 8-7 and 2-4 in CACC action.
Smith posted 20 points or more for the third consecutive league game as she finished with 21 (7-15 FG, 2-4 3FG, 5-8 FT) against WilmU and pulled down 5 rebounds, including four on the defensive end. She filled out the rest of the stat sheet with five assists and four steals. Senior
Iman Williams (Shreveport, La.) recorded her best offensive game of the season with 20 points, going 9-for-16 from the floor while grabbing 6 boards and even dished out an assist. Classmate,
Ariel Wilson (Chesapeake, Va.) continued her solid senior campaign with the third consecutive double-figured performance against a CACC opponent, netting 16 points (6-13 FG, 1-3 3FG, 3-3 FT) and 6 rebounds. Wilson also filled up the stat sheet, recording three assists, a steal and a block during the road win.
Chyna Golden (Neptune, N.J.) had her second-best rebounding performance as a Bear snagging a game-high 13 boards to go along with 6 points.
Bloomfield started out shooting just 11 of 35 through the first two quarters of the game, but flipped the switch and shot 54.3 percent over the final two periods to remain unbeaten in conference action. In the end, the Bears outshot Wilmington, 42.9 percent (30-70) to 32.4 percent (22-68) and held a 17-11 advantage in assists. The teams were deadlocked in rebounds at 48-48 including identical 34-34 boards on the defensive glass.
The Bears trailed early on in the contest as Smith and Williams struggled to find their stroke and the visitors were down 14-20 at the conclusion of the first quarter. The eventual leading scorers went a combined 2-for-11 after two quarters of play and Bloomfield went into the halftime break down 36-31.
Bloomfield came out of the break on a 10-2 run and would never trail again in the match after the 7:24 minute mark of the 3
rd quarter. Smith and Williams tag-teamed for nineteen of the Bears twenty-five points in the period and the visitors commanded a 56-51 lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw Bloomfield expand their advantage by as-many-as 12 points (77-65) before settling for the five point margin of victory. The Smith and Williams duo scored 17 and 16 points respectively over the final 20 minutes and went a combined 14-for-20 from the floor.
The Bears are right back at it, putting their undefeated CACC record on the line Saturday, Jan. 8 at 1:00 p.m. when they play host to USciences at the Bloomfield Gym.
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