BUCKHANNON — Emma Witt dominated the paint Saturday to lead her Bobcats into second place in the Mountain East Conference with a 73-58 victory over Point Park University in the Rockefeller Center.
Witt’s 31 points is the third time she’s scored over 30 in a game this season. Her 14-of-23 field goals was her second-best performance of the year. She added eight rebounds (25th in the MEC) and four assists (7th in the MEC).
The Pioneers held off the Bobcats through most of the first 10 minutes until the very end when Sydney Baird dropped a layup from the paint as the first quarter buzzer sounded a close 19-17 Bobcat advantage. From that point on, Wesleyan pulled away, taking a 9-point lead after Witt completed the old-fashioned three with 3:40 before the half. The Bobcats hit the locker room up 39-33.
The Pioneers could not find an answer for Witt or many of the other Bobcats in the second half. Senior Desiree Roy crossed her 1,000-point career total after her third basket enroute to a 12-point night that included nine rebounds (6th in the MEC) and three assists. Baird had 11 points (7th in the MEC), two rebounds and three assists (11th in the MEC). Shelby Genes also hit for 11 points (14th in the MEC), and had one rebound and an assist.
The Pioneers were led by Ari Bleda (16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), Alexis Giles (15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist) and Camille Fultz (13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists).
Wheeling University comes to Buckhannon on Wednesday, Feb. 5 for an important 5:30 p.m. tipoff with the Bobcats. Both teams have identical MEC records at 8-4. Wesleyan has the current tiebreaker with a defeat of the Cardinals 71-59 early in the season. Join us in the Rockefeller Center for great NCAA Division II basketball. Admission is free.