Women's Basketball Overruns KCU

Athens, Tenn.- The women's basketball team returned to James L. Robb Gymnasium for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game on Wednesday. The team hosted the Kentucky Christian University Lady Knights.

TWU started the game with a three-point barrage as Cambree Mayo, Mikalee Martin, and Alexis Bates knocked down threes to lead 9-0. Jordan Wright kept the trend going with her three-point play making the score 12-2. Under the midway point of the first quarter, Yeika Jimenez Diaz scored a layup and a pair of free throws to move the lead to 18-12. With 2:03 remaining in the quarter, Kentucky Christian cut the lead to two points. Martin's free throw and a Bates three-pointer made the team's lead 22-16 to start the second quarter.

Two minutes into the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs led 28-18 after a Wright free throw, Anna Crowder's three-pointer, and Mayo's layup. The offense went cold over the next several minutes and the opponents outscored Tennessee Wesleyan 12-2 to tie the game 30-30 with 2:39 left until halftime. Bates broke the tie with a jump shot and the team held a 37-33 lead at the intermission after a Mayo layup and Wright three-pointer. Wright's three-pointer at the end of the half gave her 1,000 career points.

The score remained close over the early segments of the second half. Four consecutive points by Mayo moved the team's lead to 41-37. Kentucky Christian tied the game 42-42 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Jaci Powell broke the tie with a free throw but the Lady Knights took the lead on their next possession. Wright tied the score with a jump shot but Kentucky Christian broke the tie and scored 10 of the next 11 points to lead 55-46. Wright's layup at the end of the third made the score 55-48 in favor of the opponents.

The script flipped in the fourth quarter when the Lady Bulldogs opened with the first 14 points. The combination of scores from Jimenez Diaz, Bates, and Mayo pushed TWU ahead 62-55 with 6:10 remaining in the game. The opponents could not even the score with the Lady Bulldogs again and Tennessee Wesleyan went on to win 69-61.

Wright led the way with 17 points and was joined in double figures by Mayo (15), Bates (14), and Jimenez Diaz (11). Bates was the leader on the boards with a career-high 11 rebounds.

The win moved the team's record to 13-6 overall and 11-6 in the conference.