FROSTBURG (Md.) — It was the West Virginia Wesleyan College Lady Bobcats’ first win in 11 games and its first Mountain East Conference victory of the season, but it wasn’t easy. Going from struggling to dominant to near implosion in three quarters, the Wesleyan women survived at Frostburg State University 55-52, Wednesday.
After an arid offensive first half for both teams that resulted in a Frostburg State 19-16 lead at the break, Wesleyan exploded in the third quarter both on offense and defense. Shooting 10-of-21 for a 47.62 percent field goal average was evidenced by a 20-4 Wesleyan run and a 36-26 lead going into the final 10 minutes, a position Wesleyan has rarely been in this season.
The fourth quarter was a completely different story. Frostburg’s full-court defense came alive and punished Wesleyan’s poor ball-handling, coming within one point, 50-49, with 13 seconds on the clock. But team-leading free throw percentage shooter Sydney Baird (.933) knocked down all of her shots from the stripe to help stave off Frostburg’s late comeback attempt.
Baird was also Wesleyan’s leading scorer with 11 points. Shelby Genes added nine points and Courtney Wilfong and Daveona Hatchell each scored eight points with Hatchell adding five rebounds to Wesleyan’s dominance on the boards (41-23). Desiree Roy notched another double-digit rebounding effort onto her stat sheet with 10 boards and six points.
At the top of the points table for Frostburg were Emilee Weakley (game high 16 points), Grace Middleton (eight points) and Jenna Muha (six points)
Wesleyan returns to Rockefeller Center Saturday, Jan. 27 when it will try for two in a row against the Senators from Davis and Elkins College. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. and admission is free.
