KWC women pull away down stretch

Joseph Russell, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
·2 min read

Feb. 26—Cali Nolot scored a team-high 19 points, and the Kentucky Wesleyan College women's basketball team closed on a 12-4 run to capture a 72-65 win over Cedarville on the last day of the regular season Saturday in Cedarville, Ohio.

It was the sixth consecutive victory for the Panthers (22-5, 18-2 G-MAC), who will host Hillsdale (17-13, 10-10) in the first round of the G-MAC tournament Tuesday at the Sportscenter.

Tahlia Walton produced 15 points, six rebounds and four steals for Wesleyan, which dominated the paint for a 50-20 scoring advantage. Corina Conley and Shaylee McDonald notched 10 points apiece, with Conley grabbing six boards with four steals and McDonald dishing five assists.

Cedarville took a 61-60 lead on Paige Garr's jump shot with 3:33 left, but Walton's layup put KWC back on top shortly thereafter. Conley scored a layup to extend the Panthers' lead to three points before another Garr bucket trimmed their advantage to 64-63 with 2:12 remaining.

McDonald connected on another layup at 1:13, and Reeva Hammelman added a free throw after a foul on the play for a 67-63 lead. Parr's basket brought the Yellow Jackets to within 67-65, but KWC closed the game on a 5-0 spurt to seal the win.

Wesleyan shot 46.8% from the field, including 3-of-18 from 3-point range (16.7%), and converted 11-of-16 foul shots (68.8%) with 13 turnovers leading to 11 points. Jordyn Barga added six rebounds as KWC won the battle on the glass, 34-29, and outscored Cedarville 11-3 in second-chance opportunities.

Garr scored 22 points and Lydia Sweeney added 19 points for Cedarville, which shot 40% from the floor, 7-of-17 from deep (41.2%) and 22-of-24 at the free-throw line (91.7%) with 20 turnovers leading to 19 KWC points.

Wesleyan, which enters as the No. 2 seed, will host Hillsdale at 1 p.m. Tuesday, with the remainder of the G-MAC tournament moving to the top remaining seed after the opening round.

KENTUCKY WESLEYAN 19 12 19 22 — 72

CEDARVILLE 14 13 21 17 — 65

Kentucky Wesleyan (72) — Nolot 19, Walton 15, Conley 10, McDonald 10, Barga 9, Lytton 4, Hammelman 3, Edmonds 2.

Cedarville (65) — Garr 20, Sweeney 19, Weakley 12, Wheeler 10, Butterbaugh 4.