(CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.) – The Wilson women's basketball team ended the regular season on a high now with a victory over Cairn for Senior Day on Saturday afternoon. The Phoenix featured a balanced offense with five players in double-figures while the defense stepped up with eight different players recording a steal and totaling 17 overall.
The victory over the Highlanders gives the Blue and White a three-game winning streak heading into the United East Championship where they have earned the No. 10 seed. Wilson will travel to Baltimore to take on No. 7 Notre Dame on Wednesday.
The Basics
Score: Wilson 71, Cairn 54
Venue: Wilson 10-15, 9-7 UE; Cairn 1-21, 0-16 UE
How It Happened
- Allie Cullison (Sr., Westminster, Md. / Winters Mill / Kean) set the tone early by opening the game with a 3-pointer and scoring a layup on a dish from Jewels Torres (Jr., York, Pa. / West York) two minutes later. The later tied the game at 7-7 and sparked at 15-2 run to put the Phoenix up double-digits. The Highlanders were able to get back within single digits by the end of the frame with Wilson up 22-14.
- The second quarter saw the Blue and White step up their game defensively. They limited Cairn to just one field goal in the period. That didn't come until there was 2:26 left when Kailee Sobrino hit a 3-pointer. By that time The Phoenix had built a 16-point lead after a Cullison layup. Leah Laubach (FY, Marietta, Pa. / Lancaster Catholic) answered Cairn's triple with a jumper to give Wilson a 33-18 lead at the break.
- Both teams turned it up a notch in the third quarter. Both teams went bucket-for-bucket at the start the second half. Sobrino was the catalyst for the visitors with a pair of early 3-pointers and nine points in the first five minutes to cut the deficit down to eight. Torres was able to counter for the Phoenix with back-to-back layups, the latter of which followed her stealing the ball away.
- She ended the third in style as well by draining a half-court 3-pointer off the inbound with under two seconds left. It gave Wilson a 55-40 lead to start the fourth and the Phoenix led by double-digits the rest of the way.
Inside The Numbers
- Torres finished with a team-high 18 points in a fantastic all-around game. She pulled in six rebounds, dished out five assists, made two steals, and blocked one shot.
- Chelcie Forrester (Jr., Shippensburg, Pa . / Shippensburg / WVU Potomac State) and Lae Black (Jr., Laurel, Md. / Meade / Bluefield State) both recorded double-doubles. For Forrester, it was her fifth of the season. She scored 13 points on a near-perfect day from the field where she went 5-for-7 with 12 rebounds. Seven of those were on the offensive end and led to six second-chance points. Forrester tied Cullison with a game-high three steals.
- For Black, it was her second double-double of the season. This time she scored 11 points and pulled down 10 caroms.
- Laubach made it a quintet of Phoenix in double-figures with 10 points.
- Sobrino was the main source of offense for the Highlanders and led all scorers with 30 points. Dezaray Bright added a double-double for Cairn with 17 points and 13 boards.
Senior Sendoff
- Saturday was likely the final home game for seniors Cullison and Laela Robinson (Lancaster, Pa. / Conestoga Valley). Both were honored at halftime for their contributions to the team.
Up Next
The Phoenix will be on the road for Wednesday's United East Championship first round game. They have earned the No. 10 seed and will play No. 7 Notre Dame at a time to be determined. The teams split the regular season with each team winning on its home floor. Wilson won the first matchup back in November by a score of 61-51. The Gators returned the favor with a 66-57 score last month.
