Women's Basketball drops HBCUAC Opener
Wiley University women's basketball players Tamia Dolls and Jessica Nerestant scored in double figures. Still, it wasn't enough as the Lady Wildcats fell 70-62 against Southern University at New Orleans in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities opener Thursday at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Lady Wildcats (0-4, 0-1 HBCUAC) fall in their conference opener for the first time since 2010-11. They have lost six straight conference games dating back to last season. Dolls led all scorers with 14 points, hitting six shots. She also added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Nerestant tallied 10 points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Wiley briefly held leads in the first half on free throws by Kewaysha Alsup and a layup by Mary Leday. It had a pair of two-minute scoring droughts which allowed the Knights to hold a 30-26 edge at halftime.
Leday stole the ball and dished it to Dolls, who laid it in, to cut the margin to 43-41 with 4:08 left in the third. The Lady Wildcats did not score a field goal, they only scored two from the free throw line. Southern University at New Orleans upped its advantage to 11 after three.
The Lady Wildcats trailed by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter. Three-pointers by Dolls and Emilee Proctor trimmed the margin to single digits. Nerestant got a steal and Zacyria Dozier put it in to cut the deficit to five with 6:10 left. Elizabeth Camacho brought Wiley within two on a layup with 3-minutes left. A 3-pointer by Dozier off a pass from Camacho gave Wiley a 62-61 lead with 2:31 left. The Lady Wildcats missed their last four shots and turned the ball over twice. Southern University at New Orleans closed the game on a nine-point run.
Wiley was outshot 37.3 to 35.7 percent. It was also outrebounded 53-46, including 18-14 on the offensive glass. The Lady Wildcats won the turnover battle 23-20 but the Knights took more advantage of Wiley's miscues outscoring it 58-48 in points off turnovers.
The Lady Wildcats will continue HBCU Athletic Conference play at 1 p.m. Saturday against Dillard University. The Bleu Devils defeated Philander Smith University 70-60 on Thursday.
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.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS
X: @WileyAthletics, @wiley_wbb
Facebook: /WileyAthletics
Instagram: @wileyuniversityathletics, @wiley_wbb
YouTube: /c/Wiley Wildcats
HBCU+: Wiley University
