(MORRISTOWN, N.J.) – Wilson fell to Saint Elizabeth in a matchup between two early unbeaten teams in conference play on Saturday afternoon. With the Phoenix trailing by just three points heading into the final quarter, the Eagles were able to pull away and hold off a late charge as Wilson attempted to come back.
The Basics
Score: Wilson 59 Saint Elizabeth 66
Venue: Saint Joseph Hall
Records: Wilson 3-5, 2-1 UE; Saint Elizabeth 6-3, 3-0 UE
How It Happened
- After a close opening quarter that saw Wilson trail by a point, Saint Elizabeth pulled ahead for a 38-25 lead at the half. The Eagles still led by a baker's dozen midway through the third before Wilson mounted a furious rally to get back into contention. Jewels Torres (Jr., York, Pa. / West York) sparked the rally with an offensive rebound and going coast to coast for a layup. After the inbounds, she stole the ball away and dished it to Chelcie Forrester (Jr., Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg / WVU Potomac State) for another bunny to get the Phoenix within single digits. St. E's missed on its next trip down the floor, and Torres was able to convert another layup to cut the deficit to 47-40. The Eagles' lead hovered around there until Lae Black (Jr., Laurel, Md. / Meade / Bluefield State) drained a 3-pointer to make it a 50-47 game in favor of the Eagles headed to the fourth.
- Momentum quickly shifted back towards the home team for the final quarter as they opened the frame on 13-0 run. Torres broke the stretch with a layup with 4:29 to go and a trey by Kailee Soto (FY, Lancaster, Pa. / Columbia) put Wilson back within nine two minutes later. Torres was fouled on another bucket as she drove the lane and sank the and-one free throw to get the Phoenix within six, but that was as close as they could get before time ran out.
Inside The Numbers
- Torres scored a season-best 17 points to lead a quartet of Phoenix in double-figures. She nearly reached double-figures alone at the charity stripe where she made 9-of-11.
- Soto, Black and Adrianna Stricek (Jr., Harrisburg, Pa. / Trinity) all followed her with 11 points. Stricek recorded her fourth double-double of the season as she pulled down 10 rebounds for co-game high honors. Soto was 5-of-10 from the field and Black was 3-of-5 with six rebounds.
- Wilson led the rebounding battle 53-51.
- Wilson outscored St. E's in the paint 34-26, but the hosts countered by beating Wilson 25-14 in points off turnovers.
Up Next
Wilson is off for finals and will return to action a week from Monday with a road trip to McDaniel. Tip-off with the Green Terror is set for 4 p.m.
