Despite missing two very important components, the Bethune-Cookman Women’s Basketball team put away an impressive victory against Paine College on Saturday afternoon. The missing pieces were Head Coach Vanessa Inge, out due to illness, and Euneshia Proctor, a season-long starter at forward for B-CU. Under the direction of Associate Head Coach Mark Zacher, the Lady Wildcats jumped off to a hot start and never looked back, finishing off the Lady Lions 75-52.
Bethune-Cookman played very inspired Saturday afternoon, starting the game of right and creating an 11-2 lead. They maintained the lead throughout the half, pushing the difference to as much as 14. However, with only seconds remaining in the half, the Lady Lions made a rally cutting the lead to five and heading into halftime with the score at 33-28.
In the second half, B-CU picked up right where they left off, pushing back out to a double digit lead. They maintained control of the pace and the game for the entire second half, creating 14 points off of turnovers and putting in 12 on the fast break. This was an impressive victory for B-CU, with an upbeat and intense attack to seal the game early, in spite of missing pieces.
The Lady Wildcats not only put up big numbers on the scoreboard, tying the team season-high in scoring, but also outrebounding Paine 48-28. B-CU held Paine to only 32.4% shooting for the game, made 6 blocks, and came away with 15 steals in the game.
Leading all scorers for Bethune-Cookman, Demetria Frank put in 20 points, in addition to grabbing 7 rebounds and 4 steals. In Proctor’s absence, Cleniece Roberts started and contributed a solid 30 minutes, grabbing a double-double with 14 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. Sarah Bolden was back in form, scoring 14 points and getting 9 rebounds, despite only playing 22 minutes in the game. The fourth Wildcat in double figures was Keturah Newkirk, who finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Up next for the Bethune-Cookman Lady Wildcats, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles travel to Moore Gymnasium for a 5 p.m. tip-off on Friday, Dec. 19.