BALTIMORE, Maryland -- The Lady Wildcats (6-12, 3-3 MEAC) made it 2-for-2 on the trip to Baltimore, jumping out early on Morgan State (6-12, 3-3 MEAC) and holding the advantage throughout to top the Lady Bears, 55-48, Monday afternoon at Talmadge L. Hill Field House.
"Mentally we were tough. We came out offensively and hit our shots, developed a big lead and were able to hold onto it throughout Morgan State's runs," Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis said. "But defensively is where we really did a great job."
Set off by a trio of buckets for redshirt sophomore center Kailyn Williams, followed by a pair for Kendra Cooper, the Lady Wildcats jumped out to a 12-0 advantage. The B-CU defense stood strong early, allowing seven minutes to elapse before the Lady Bears touched the scoreboard on Braennan Farrar’s four-point play.
Farrar scored MSU’s first seven points and 10 of Morgan State’s 19 in the first half. As others got into the offensive mix, Emily Williams and Jasmine Knowles chipped in a pair of scores each to keep the Lady Bears at a safe distance, with B-CU carrying a 28-19 lead into the half.
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After a hot first half, Cooper drained her lone second half shot to open the period’s scoring with just under two minutes played. With Cooper smothered by defenders, other Lady Wildcats took advantage of the opening, building up to a 13-point lead with 13:39 to go.
Making her first game appearance in the second half, MSU’s Torri Chestnut applied some pressure for the Lady Wildcats, going 3-for-3 from long distance and sparking a Lady Bears run that trimmed the deficit to just five points with 9:50 remaining.
However, free throw conversions from Terrenisha Hollis, Cooper and Knowles kept the lead hovering around double digits. As B-CU worked to burn the clock down the stretch, MSU was able to creep back into contention, but buckets from K. Williams and Emily Williams iced the game with under a minute to play, closing in a 55-48 Bethune-Cookman win at the final buzzer.
Cooper led all scorers with 18 points, shooting 62.5 percent from the field, 80 percent from the perimeter and 100 percent from the line for her 13th double-figure scoring game of the year. In addition, she logged a career-high seven (7) rebounds.
For the second time in a week, K. Williams pressed close to earning a triple-double, logging 12 points, 13 rebounds and eight (8) blocks in the contest, shooting 45.4 percent on the day.
Knowles had a banner day at point guard, drawing praise from the coaching staff.
"It's easy to play point when nobody's pressuring you, but she had pressure the entire game, and was still able to distribute the ball," Blair-Lewis said. "She was still able to attack offensively for her shots, and she defended the best player on the team."
Knowles scored 11 of her own on 44.4 percent shooting, but also dishing out seven (7) assists to match her career high.
Williams was also named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week just before tip-off this afternoon.
The Lady Wildcats return to Richard V. Moore Gymnasium on a win streak, taking on a home set with Maryland Eastern Shore and Howard next week.
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