DeLAND, Fla. – The Lady Wildcats were unable to overcome untimely second-half miscues and lights out shooting by Stetson's Victoria McGowan, as the Hatters were able to break free from a two-point game at the midpoint of the second half, en route to a 66-52 win over the Lady Wildcats Tuesday night at the Edmunds Center.

The Lady Wildcats (2-2) fell behind the Hatters (2-3) early in the contest, working out of an 8-2 deficit after the first timeout of the game. Coming off the bench, Jasmine Evans and Terrenisha Hollis provided a spark and B-CU's energy level pushed several surges to claw back into the game, led by 11 points from Chastity René Taylor in the opening period as B-CU met challenges getting the ball inside to center Amanda Hairston.

“They had tremendous pressure on us. They were able to take our inside presence,” Head Coach Vanessa Blair said, “which changed the complexion of how we played.”

The Lady Wildcats trailed by just six at the half.

Taking the sixth woman role to the next level, junior guard Kiara Redmon took charge for the Lady Wildcats in the second half, as she worked in tandem with Sharnese Neal to lead B-CU on a 12-4 run that ended in a one-possession game with 9:24 on the clock.

“This team plays as hard as any team I've ever coached,” Blair said. “I just think that when we're able to be a little bit smarter defensively, we're going to be force to be reckoned with.”

However, back-to-back scores from McGowan rebuilt the lead, then provided the Hatters with an additional long-range score to push back into double figures.

As the game closed out, Stetson finished at the free throw line to provide an air of separation that they never really possessed all night, with a constantly shifting margin throughout.

Taylor led the Lady Wildcats on the scoreboard, putting up 14 and grabbing two steals. Redmon finished with 10 on the night, hitting 5-of-6 from the field. Leading B-CU on the glass, Neal collected 10 boards, six points and a pair of steals.

McGowan led all scorers, finishing with 27 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from the perimeter, while also collecting a team-high eight rebounds.

The Lady Wildcats move to 2-2 on the season and return to action on Friday at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium, taking on Ball State (1-3) with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.

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Postgame Quotes

Junior Guard Chastity René Taylor

“We made a good run, we were playing good defense, ran our plays, and then at the end of it, we just kind of broke down on defense. We had a few plays where the rotations just weren't right and we let them get the lead back.”

Junior Guard Kiara Redmon

“As a team we know that our number one emphasis is defense, so when I come off the bench at any point in time, I always try to make sure that first I'm playing solid defense.

Coming off a loss like this, we know that the thing that really hurt us was our defense.

Going into the next game, we have to pay more attention to our scout, know where certain players are on the floor, and everyone has to know their role and play their role the right way so we can win as a team.

-www.BCUathletics.com-