WHEELING, W. Va. – Davis & Elkins picked up the defensive intensity and battled back from a sluggish first half to put a scare into seventh-seeded Wheeling, ultimately falling 69-60 to the Cardinals in the opening round of the 2020 Mountain East Conference Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
The Senators struggled shooting the ball, particularly in the first half, and finished just 2-of-15 from three-point range. Senior guard
Jay Kilpatrick led the Senators with a team-high 15 points and three steals, while freshman guard
Reagan Sharp fired in a career-high 13 points, with 11 coming after halftime, along with three steals for D&E.
Junior forward
Jamiyah Johnson recorded a double-double in her 24th straight contest, tying the NCAA DII women's basketball record with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Lilly Ritz stuffed the stat sheet for Wheeling behind a double-double effort of 20 points and 20 rebounds. Entering as the nation's leading rebounder, Ritz added four blocks, three steals and three assists.
Taliah Cashwell (16), Lauren Lipscomb (15) and Khira Burton (14) also finished in double figures for Wheeling.
THE RUNDOWN
- Wheeling (11-18) – 69
- Davis & Elkins (7-22) – 60
- WesBanco Arena – Wheeling, W. Va.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Scoring was tough to come by early on with the teams locked at five nearly four minutes in. Burton gave the Cardinals a two-point edge with a jumper at the six-minute mark, kickstarting a 9-0 run that pushed the Wheeling lead to 14-5. Johnson answered with a much-needed bucket at 3:43, but Wheeling eventually moved ahead by double digits near the end of the quarter. Kilpatrick trimmed the deficit to nine at 22-13 after scoring off a feed from Rachel Bolyard to close the opening frame.
- The teams combined for just 11 points over the first six minutes of the second quarter as Wheeling moved ahead by nine at 28-19 with 3:53 showing on the first half clock. Kilpatrick stuck a jumper, the first basket in over three minutes for the Senators, but Wheeling counter-punched on its next possession with a trey from Cashwell at 2:58. Emily Holzopfel cashed in on a three for the final basket of the first half at 1:09 as Wheeling took a 36-21 lead into the intermission.
- The Cardinals lead hovered around 15 for much of the third quarter until the Senators used a quick surge to pull back to within 11. Nestor converted a stickback for D&E and Kilpatrick stepped in front of the ensuing inbounds pass, charging down the left block and drawing contact for a three-point play, trimming the deficit to 44-33 with 3:24 left in the third. The stretch was part of a larger 7-0 run, capped by an Angel Broadus layup to bring D&E to within 44-35.
- Ritz made the final bucket of the third, dropping in a layup as D&E trailed 48-39. Hoops from Lipscomb and Ritz ballooned the Wheeling lead to 14 each time before the Senators answered with the next seven points, with five coming from Sharp that sliced the deficit to 58-51 with 3:29 remaining.
- Johnson and Sharp whittled the Wheeling lead back to two possessions and Kilpatrick brought the Senators to within four following a pair of foul shots. Another conversion at the charity stripe from Kilpatrick made it a three-point game at 63-60 with 33 seconds left, but the Cardinals cashed in on six free throw attempts down the stretch.
GAME NOTES
- Johnson tied Vanessa Wilt's record of consecutive double-doubles with 24 to end her junior campaign. She enters her senior season with 903 career points, collecting 547 as a junior.
- The Senators last three came from Jessica Eadsforth-Yates at 7:45 of the third quarter.
- Kilpatrick notched 15 points in each of the final two games of the season.
UP NEXT
- Davis & Elkins returns for the new season this November.
