Women's Basketball delivers Senior Night Victory over Tougaloo

The Wiley University women's basketball team began the night by honoring six seniors. It finished with a thrilling 67-64 victory over Tougaloo College in a Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference game Thursday at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Lady Wildcats (12-10, 8-6 HBCUAC) match their season longest winning streak with their fifth consecutive win. They finish 6-3 at Alumni Gymnasium. This is the second time Wiley has overcome a halftime deficit.

Seniors Mary Leday, Celebria Peacock, Jessica Nerestant, Kewaysha Alsup, Elizabeth Camacho and student assistant coach Diamond Hawthorne, who also played from 2021-2023 were honored. Wiley started the game with four players, leaving the fifth spot open for Camacho, who could not play after suffering a season-ending injury against Wilberforce on December 13. Leday finished with 10 points and seven assists. Peacock had eight points and three assists. Nerestant put up eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Alsup tallied four points, two assists and a steal.

Junior guard Zacyria Dozier had her most productive game with 17 points - hitting five 3-pointers. Kelechi Dike followed with 12 points and six rebounds. Wiley outscored Tougaloo's bench 31-16.

The Lady Wildcats trailed 29-27 at halftime. They turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter and struggled to keep Tougaloo out of the paint. It only committed one turnover in the second quarter. After halftime, Leday gave the Lady Wildcats the lead with a 3-pointer. The lead changed hands multiple times. Nerestant made a layup to put Wiley on top 34-33 with 6:24 left in the third. Leday stole the ball and dished to Alsup who hit a jumper. Another turnover led to a jumper by Nerestant. Dozier hit a 3-pointer to give the Lady Wildcats a 41-33 lead. They held a 50-39 lead after three.

Wiley led by as many as 15 after Dike made a layup and one early in the fourth quarter. It could not keep control as it shot 2-for-9 and committed five turnovers. Tougaloo took advantage of the misfortunes and grabbed a 60-59 lead with 2:10 left in the game. Trailing by two, Dozier gave Wiley the lead with her fifth 3-pointer. Tougaloo turned it over twice, and Nerestant made a layup, which increased the lead to five.

The Lady Wildcats will return to the court on February 13 when it visits Southern University at New Orleans. They will look to avenge a 70-62 loss it suffered at home on November 14.

For more coverage on the Lady Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/wbkb/index

About Wiley University Athletics

Wiley University sponsors 12 varsity sports, women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) and the Continental Athletic Conference for men's and women's soccer.

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