Women's Basketball shuts down Jarvis Christian

HAWKINS, Texas – The Wiley College women's basketball team forced 23 turnovers and took advantage of them in a 75-60 season-opening victory over Jarvis Christian University Saturday at E.W. Rand Gymnasium.

The Lady Wildcats (1-0) open the season with a victory for the first time since 2018 when it topped Southern University-New Orleans. The team wore t-shirts and patches to honor its late head coach Tiffany Jackson. It also left the first chair on the bench open. Interim head coach Amanda Wilson became the third Lady Wildcat coach to win her first game since 2006, joining Courtney Garrett-Pruitt and Ashley Walker.

Wiley College scored 35 points off Jarvis Christian's turnovers while the Lady Bulldogs only tallied 20 on 13 takeaways. The Lady Wildcats trailed early but Kaitlyn Davis hit two three-pointers to put them in front. Steals by Kayja Jackson and Tamia Dolls set up fast break layups for Davis. Jackson made a layup to cap off a 14-point run and give the Lady Wildcats an 11-point lead. They led by as many as 13 and held a 39-31 advantage at halftime.

"When I stepped foot in Wiley's door, my mentality was defense because defense wins championships," Wilson said. "Rebounding wins rings. If we guard someone, we can compete with anybody."

Jarvis Christian (0-1) took advantage of two missed shots and a turnover to trim the margin to three early in the third quarter. Alaeh Pressley hit a jumper and Davis sank her third three-pointer and a layup to push Wiley College's lead to 10.  A pair of turnovers helped the Lady Bulldogs cut the deficit in half. A 3-pointer by Jackson and a layup by Pressley raised the lead to double-digits. Wiley College led by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Davis led all players with a career-high 26 points. She hit nine field goals with four coming from 3-point territory. Davis added five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Jackson followed with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Pressley also scored in double-figures with 15 points. She added five rebounds, an assist and a block.

"Kaitlyn is always ready," Wilson said. "Those are the type of players you want on your team. You have to be ready to play and stay ready. KD is one of those players."

The Lady Wildcats will open their home schedule on November 5 with their Homecoming game against Arkansas Baptist College.

See the full Lady Wildcats schedule here: https://www.wileyathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/schedule

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