ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - - In its closest contest in four games, the Wilmington University women's basketball team pulled to within eight points but couldn't complete the comeback against Dominican, falling, 60-52, on the road in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (1-14, 0-10 CACC) dropped its 13th consecutive game but didn't go down without a fight, clawing to the final buzzer. With the win, Dominican (9-7, 9-2 CACC) stayed a game ahead of Felician in the CACC North Division.
Down 14-2 to start the game, the Wildcats used a 7-0 run to close the gap to five, capped by a pair of free-throws from Erin Moore with 7:05 to play before the break. Now down 17 less than five minutes later, Candace DeShields hit a three-pointer and sank a jumper in the paint in the final minute of play to cut the deficit to 30-18 at the break.
The division leading Chargers extended it to as many as 24 in the second half, as a layup by Bianca Harris put the home team up 51-27 with 8:47 remaining in the game. For the next eight minutes and 22 seconds, the Wildcats went on a 22-6 run to make it an eight point contest with 25 seconds remaining in the game.
Trailing 55-32 with 5:58 on the clock, Candance Phrance started a 17-2 run with a jumper and hitting one of her two foul shots. Cari Callaway hit a three-pointer, followed by a free-throw from Lauren Brown, jumper by Megan Fox, two more from the foul line for Phrance and another layup by Callaway to make it 55-45 with 1:15 left in the game.
Domincan's Lashonda Hathorne ended the rally with a layup with 45 seconds to play, but Wilmington's Tianna Wagner and another lay-in by Callaway cut the deficit to eight with 25 left on the clock. But, the Chargers converted 3-of-5 foul shots to close out the game. Erin Moore hit a final three-pointer to close out the scoring, 60-52.
Callaway led the Wildcats with a career best 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Phrance collected a game-high nine rebounds as Kim Walton and Fox each added six boards. Lauren Brown finished with five assists on the afternoon.
The Wildcats return to the hardwood on Tuesday, January 31 as they welcome Philadelphia to the Pratt Center for a 6 p.m. tip. Tuesday is the state of Delaware's first Domestic Violence Awareness Night and the teams will wear purple warm-up shirts to help spread awareness.