BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Wesleyan (3-20) women’s basketball team earned a comeback win over Bluefield State (2-18) on Monday night by 57-52 score inside Rockefeller Center.
WVWC Leaders
Two Lady Bobcats posted double-doubles. Symphonie Bryant-Brown scored 13 points and grabbed 10 boards. Bryant-Brown added four assists. Imani Jackson went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe and snagged a game-high 11 rebounds. Courtney Wilfong made clutch shots down the stretch and finished with 13 points on the night.
Bluefield State Leaders
Londen Coleman came off the bench for the visitors and scored a game-high 14 points. Autumn Spangler chipped in 12 points. Coleman led the Big Blue with eight rebounds. Dani Janutolo collected a game-high five steals.
Inside the First Half
The Lady Bobcats jumped out to a 6-2 lead early on in the first quarter. WVWC scored six straight points from baskets by Daveona Hatchell, Jackson and Bryant-Brown. The Wesleyan lead increased to six points following a basket by Jabria Bruce. Bluefield State closed the first quarter out on a 5-0 run and trailed WVWC by one point at the end of the first quarter.
Bluefield State retook the lead after Spangler connected on a three. The Big Blue controlled the second quarter and outscored the Lady Bobcats 17-5 in the final eight minutes of the first half. The visitors held a seven-point lead at the end of the first half.
Inside the Second Half
The Big Blue kept things rolling to start the second half and scored the first nine points of the half to go up 16. The Lady ‘Cats fought back with a 9-0 scoring run and chipped away at the Bluefield State lead. BSC was ahead 43-34 at the end of three quarters of play.
Electra Allembert drove the lane for a layup to put the Bobcats within seven points. Wilfong sank a layup to make it a two possession game with nine minutes remaining. Jackson converted two free throws to trim the deficit to five points. Bryant-Brown’s steal and score with 5:25 left in the quarter brought the Lady ‘Cats to within three points.
After the final media timeout of the game, Wilfong drilled a clutch fastbreak layup that put WVWC within one point. With less than two minutes to go, Tolbert powered her way for a putback layup that gave Wesleyan their first lead since the 8:22 mark in the second quarter. The Lady Bobcats got a stop on the next possession and Wilfong put WVWC up by three points with her sixth made field goal of the night. Jackson drained four clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for the Lady Bobcats.
Up Next
WVWC will host Fairmont State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. inside the Rockefeller Center.
