BUCKHANNON, W. Va. – Davis & Elkins was on the wrong end of an 11-4 run to start the second half as West Virginia Wesleyan held off the Senators, 74-71, on Saturday in the regular season finale.
Davis & Elkins trimmed the deficit to one possession twice over the final 11 seconds of the game, but could not overcome a 22-10 third quarter from WV Wesleyan.
Junior forward
Jamiyah Johnson poured in a game-high 26 points and added 21 rebounds for another double-double effort and senior
Jay Kilpatrick added 15 points and a pair of assists. Junior guard
Jessica Eadsforth-Yates notched 10 points, including a timely three to make the score 71-69, and added two rebounds in 26 minutes.
West Virginia Wesleyan snapped an extended 22-game losing streak with the victory on Saturday, led by a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench from Cierra Tolbert. Nicole Gilyard had 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Bobcats, while Courtney Wilfong chipped in 13 points.
WVWC held a 37-8 edge in bench points and a 20-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
THE RUNDOWN
- West Virginia Wesleyan (4-24, 2-20 MEC) – 74
- Davis & Elkins (7-21, 6-16 MEC) – 71
- Rockefeller Center – Buckhannon, W. Va.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Johnson had the first 10 points for the Senators as the visitors jumped ahead 10-4 with 6:15 left in the opening frame. Sydney Nestor converted a three off a feed from Abbie Bartenslager, moving the Senators ahead by five at 14-9. Nestor and Johnson dropped in the final two buckets of the quarter.
- A basket and foul for Johnson handed the Senators a seven-point lead in the second quarter. Reagan Sharp sliced along the baseline, converting the layup and drawing a foul for a 29-20 edge. The Bobcats rattled off six consecutive points before the Senators answered with five straight, capped by a trey from Allie Taylor, for a 34-26 lead at 4:02 of the second. The Bobcats scored eight of the final 10 points to close the half, with Kilpatrick's bucket with less than 10 seconds remaining breaking the tie as D&E led 36-34.
- WVWC used an 11-4 run to move in front in the second half and did not trail for the rest of the game. A three-pointer from Cydney Lapczynski ballooned the Bobcats edge to 10 at 56-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
- A 6-1 spurt to open the fourth quarter brought the Senators to within five at 57-52 following consecutive buckets from Jessica Eadsforth-Yates. The Senators continued to chip away at the deficit, with a three from Taylor at 4:57 and driving layup from Nestor at 4:40 making the score 61-59 in favor of the hosts.
- D&E cut the deficit to one possession on a couple occasions, but foul shooting for the Bobcats secured the win.
GAME NOTES
- Johnson pushed her double-double streak to 23 consecutive games, one shy of the NCAA DII record for a women's basketball player. She grabbed 20 or more rebounds in a game for the sixth time this season.
- The Senators struggled offensively in the third quarter, shooting just 2-of-13 (15.38%) from the floor in the frame.
UP NEXT
- Davis & Elkins continues its season at the 2020 MEC Tournament on Wednesday, March 4 as the 10 seed.
- The Senators will face seventh-seeded Wheeling from WesBanco Arena at noon.
