KWC wins on Walton's late layup

Dec. 11—Tahlia Walton scored the game-winning layup with 1.7 seconds remaining to lift the Kentucky Wesleyan College women's basketball team to a 67-65 win over Cedarville on Saturday at the Sportscenter.

Walton paced the Panthers with a team-high 22 points, including a pair of crucial layups within the final minute. Her bucket with 41 seconds left tied the game at 65, allowing KWC to get a defensive stop on the other end before her go-ahead score in transition.

KWC (6-3, 3-0 in G-MAC) led by 13 points early in the fourth quarter but Cedarville (2-6, 1-3) used a 17-4 run to take the lead at 61-60 wit 2:48 remaining. The Panthers' Shiya Hoosier knocked down a 3-pointer for a brief lead, but consecutive scores pushed Cedarville back to a two-point advantage — setting the stage for Walton's late heroics.

"We like that our team is sticking together — that's top priority, and that's what they're doing," said Wesleyan co-head coach Nicole Nieman, whose squad tallied 21 assists on 26 field goals. "We need to find another level within us that fits how hard we're going to play. I think we got content.

"Some shots didn't fall for us, some things weren't great offensively, and I think that got to us. We let down a little bit as far as our energy and effort. I think we have to learn how to play through some fatigue and also some adversity."

Cali Nolot finished with 12 points and six rebounds, and Shaylee McDonald posted 11 points with seven assists for KWC, which shot 46.4% from the field, including 6-of-24 from 3-point range (25%), and made 9-of-11 foul shots (81.8%) with 16 turnovers.

Lydia Sweeney scored a game-best 33 points for Cedarville, which shot 45.1% from the floor, 8-of-21 from beyond the arc (38.1%) and 11-of-14 on free throws (78.6%) with 16 turnovers.

The Panthers return to action next week with league matchups at Malone on Thursday and at Ashland on Saturday.

CEDARVILLE12 11 20 22 — 65

KENTUCKY WESLEYAN17 19 18 13 — 67

Cedarville (65) — Sweeney 33, Wheeler 14, Garr 9, Weakley 5, Fee 2, Strock 2.

Kentucky Wesleyan (67) — Walton 22, Nolot 12, McDonald 11, Barga 7, Conley 6, Hoosier 5, Edmonds 2, Montgomery 2.