BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Wesleyan women’s basketball team fell to the University of Charleston at home on Wednesday evening 60-50. UC hit eight threes and scored 21 points off the bench in the win.
Charleston’s Trinity Palacio put the Golden Eagles on the board first, connecting on a layup through the middle. Shelby Genes answered the following possession, hitting from deep to give the Lady Bobcats an early lead. Palacio and Dakota Reeves went back-to-back from behind the arc to put UC back out in front. The Lady Bobcats were active on the boards, grabbing offensive rebounds to get second chance points. Markyia McCormick’s three with a little over a minute left in the quarter gave UC a 15-10 advantage going into the second quarter.
The Lady Bobcats cut the lead back down to just three but Charleston was able to connect from deep to build a comfortable lead. Reeves, Abby Lee and McCormick hit consecutive threes to make it a 11-point lead right before the under-5 media timeout. UC ended the half on a 8-1 run, taking a 35-17 lead into the locker room.
Wesleyan opened up the half scoring seven points quickly with Courtney Wilfong hitting a pair of jumpers and Emma Witt connecting from the block. The Lady Bobcats cut the lead to 10 multiple times but just couldn’t crack single-digits as the Golden Eagles answered every blow taken. Witt hit a contested layup in the final minute of the quarter but McCormick hit one of her own, giving the Golden Eagles a 46-34 lead going into the closing quarter.
Witt scored the first five points in the fourth quarter, including an and-1 that cut the deficit to 46-38 with 7:08 left in the game. Palacio scored five straight points for UC, making it a double-digit game once again. Reeves was fouled shooting a three, hitting all three free throws and Palacio hit another three, eventually putting the game out of reach.
Palacio led all scorers with 21 points, including a 3-5 performance from behind the arc. McCormick was the only other Golden Eagle in double-figures, finishing with 15 points. Reeves chimed in with nine points.
Witt was one of two Lady Bobcats that finished with a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Daveona Hatchell was the other, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Wilfong had 11 points as well.
The Lady Bobcats will head south to face West Virginia State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
