BLUEFIELD – Women's basketball got back on the winning track with a 76-53 win over St. Andrews University, Tuesday night at the Dome Gymnasium.
The game started with an administrative technical due to a malfunctioning light on the backboard, and St. Andrews made one of the two shots. Morgan Wylie then hit a three to put the Rams up 3-1. Wylie's second trey put Bluefield ahead 8-3. Midway through the first BC was ahead 8-6. SAU went ahead 9-8 on a three at the four-minute mark. After a 10-10 tie, SAU went on a 7-0 lead to go ahead 17-10 with a minute left in the quarter. The Knights led 19-12 at the end of the quarter.
In the second the Rams cut the lead to four, but St. Andrews pushed it back to seven at 26-19 with 6:30 to play before halftime. Back-to-back buckets by Wylie and Cierra Cook cut the lead to three with 5:00 on the second quarter clock. Nialla Curtis' driving layup pulled the Rams to within a point of the lead. Curtis put the Rams back in the lead, 30-29, with two free throws with 2:15 to play. A Bluefield charge in the final 45 seconds helped the Rams to a 36-31 halftime lead.
The Rams extended their lead to eight early in the third. Bluefield controlled the tempo and were up by nine midway through the period. Tianna Crockey's driving layup gave BC its biggest advantage of the game, 11 points, 48-37 with 3:46 on the clock. Kylie Meadow's three with a minute and a half extended the Rams lead to 13 at 58-40, Bluefield led 56-40 at the end of three.
Midway through the final quarter Bluefield's lead grew to 20 on a free throw by Ayanna Strother and went as high as 24 and the final margin of victory was 23.
Wylie had a career high 22 points along with a pair of assists. She was 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line. Crockett an Meadows both had 14 points and five rebounds. Curtis had six rebounds, and Strother five.
The Rams shot 53% from the field in the game while holding SAU to 40%.
"Give St. Andrews credit. They've been through a lot of adversity as a team. They've been in quarantine for a little bit and this is their first competition back. They played really hard. We were just fortunate to get a few more shots and make some things happen, especially out of the locker room at halftime. I felt like we were more patient and got some good looks. I was really proud for our team, proud for our players and we'll take that win," said Rams Head Coach Corey Mullins.
Mullins praised the play of his players, pointing out several who stepped up against the Knights.
"Morgan, she did what we needed her to do, just take advantage of opportunities when really athletic guards drive the basketball. She was right there, wide open to knock it down. She found her shot tonight and I'm really proud of her and some others as well. Kylie hit a couple, Tianna hit one, I'm really proud of how they competed and played and hopefully this can be a foundation laying game for us to see what works for us and how we can play every game." Mullins concluded.
The Rams visit Columbia College on Saturday.