SE Bluegrass News

Women’s Basketball Uses Second-Half Rally to Defeat Widener

The Berea College women's basketball team erased an eight-point halftime deficit as they outscored Widener University 44-27 in the second half to come away with a 67-58 win in the first game of the Jamie L. Roberts Tournament.

After the comeback win, the Mountaineers sit at 8-0 on the season.

Sophomore Drea Satori had a big game for the Mountaineers as she recorded a career-high 20 points and three steals, the scoring output was also a game-high. Junior Aaliyah Hampton recorded her first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman LynKaylah James and sophomore Dailyn Spalding scored 13 and 10 points, respectively. Berea had three players with three steals and 12 total team steals. The Mountaineers forced 21 turnovers.

The Mountaineers struck first in the contest as Hampton converted a layup to get the evening started. However, the Pride hit more three-pointers (3-1) and free throws (6-2) than Berea to hold a 17-13 lead exiting the first quarter. This trend would continue in the second quarter as well as Widener shot 33.3 percent overall compared to Berea's 28.6 percent. The shooting woes hurt the Mountaineers in the first half as they entered halftime down 31-23.

Entering the third quarter, the Mountaineers flipped the script as they started the second half with an 8-4 run to chip into the lead. A pair of jumpers from Hampton and James paired with two free throws by Spalding shrunk the lead. Berea hit nine of their 20 shots from the field and knocked down all eight free throw attempts in the third quarter to outscore the Pride 23-17 to trail by two points going into the last quarter of play.

The Mountaineers dominated in the fourth quarter, outscoring the opposition 21-10. Their perfect second-half free-throw shooting continued as they converted all 10 attempts. Berea started with a 6-0 run to take the lead as a steal by sophomore Jayden Merriweather in the first defensive possession of the quarter led to a midrange jumper by Satori to spark the run. A few minutes later, Merriweather knocked down two free throws to give Berea a 50-48 lead, which they didn't surrender for the rest of the game. Berea's determination paid off as they completed the rally to come away with a 67-58 win to remain undefeated.

The Berea College women's basketball team returns to action tomorrow when they face Gwynedd Mercy University in day two of the Jamie L. Roberts Tournament. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. in Washington D.C. 

Original source can be found here.