B-CU Snaps Losing Skid, Pulling Away from WCU, 63-53

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Bethune-Cookman Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis earned her 200th victory, and her Lady Wildcats (4-10) snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium, stringing together a near-complete game effort to jump out early and hold off Western Carolina (7-7) for the 63-53 non-conference victory.

Although the Catamounts put up six quick points, the Lady Wildcats responded with a sense of urgency on both ends of the floor. Over a stretch of nearly 10 minutes, B-CU rattled off a 22-4 scoring run, spearheaded by the perimeter shooting of sophomore Kendra Cooper, who reached double figures in the first five minutes of the game.

With B-CU leading 23-10 at 8:30 on the clock, the first half closed out with the Lady Wildcats and Catamounts matching blows, 8-8, with B-CU carrying a 31-18 advantage into the break. The offensive spark in the opening period, Cooper amassed 16 first half points while connecting four times from long range.

In the first half, the Lady Wildcats hit 43.3 percent from the floor, while limiting WCU to 28.6 percent field goal shooting, aided by six first half blocks.

Coming out of the locker room, WCU matched B-CU’s early intensity to open the second period, while the Lady Wildcats were offensively sluggish at first. WCU chipped away at the Lady Wildcats’ lead, trimming the advantage to just three points after a 13-3 run to open the half.

Back-to-back paint jumpers from Kailyn Williams and Kayla Crawford sparked the Lady Wildcats offense, and the pair led the B-CU charge as the Lady Wildcats fought off two WCU comeback attempts through the middle of the half. After the six-minute mark, the Lady Wildcats surged and only allowed WCU within a two-possession reach once through the final buzzer.

Coming down the stretch, the Lady Wildcats connected on 10 consecutive free throws from four different players to quell the WCU rally and seal the 63-53 victory.

Although Cooper was limited in the second half, she led all scorers with 20 points. Meanwhile, Crawford dominated the second half for B-CU, notching her fourth double-double of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds, hitting 8-for-13 from the floor. Also reaching double figures, K. Williams scored 10 and tallied her second seven (7) block outing this season.

The Lady Wildcats finished shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent from the line, holding WCU to 28.6 percent field goal shooting.

With the victory, the Lady Wildcats conclude the non-conference slate and re-open the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) schedule next week with Hampton (Jan. 10) and Norfolk State (Jan. 12) at Moore Gymnasium.

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