Delaware State News

DOVER — The Wesley College women’s basketball team entered the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game against Capital Athletic Conference rival Southern Virginia University trailing by one, but pulled away in the final stanza for a 93-82 victory.

Tiyanna Gibbs led all scorers with 25 points and added four rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Monshea Newsome-Murray netted 20 in her collegiate debut, adding nine assists, five boards, and four steals. Alexus Stroud added 16 points off the bench while Brionna Johnson finished with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Southern Virginia finished with five players in double-digits as Jamilla Gambee and Larissa Macfarlane led the way with 16 apiece. Shelby Winsor netted 12 points while Autumn Cramer and Merideth Ouellette each finished with 11.

The Wolverines set the pace from the opening tip, forcing SVU into six first-quarter turnovers. The Wolverines turned several of those turnovers into points as they ended the first frame with a 24-21 lead.

In the second frame, the Knights were able to take their largest lead of the game, opening the quarter with a 15-4 to go ahead 36-28. Wesley battled back with their transition game, scoring layup after layup to regain the lead at 43-39 before the half.

In the third quarter, the Knights mustered enough offense to take the lead, with most of their points coming from the foul line. SVU drew nine Wesley fouls in the third quarter alone and took to the charity stripe 13 times. The Knights made 11-of-13 attempts and took a 65-64 into the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, Wesley looked to be the better conditioned team, running a scrambling full-court press and a fast-paced transition offense that ran the Knights into the ground. Alexus Stroud and Kiara Johnson made some key plays down the stretch and combined for 15 fourth-quarter points as the Wolverines pulled away to the 93-82 win.

Wesley improves to 1-0 on the season and will return to action on Friday when they face Colby College in the BSU Bears Invitational hosted by Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. Game time is 7:30 p.m.