After holding off a second-half charge by Huntingdon College, The W’s women’s basketball team broke through into the win column for the first time this season on Saturday with a 57-55 victory over the Hawks in the Millsaps Tournament held in Jackson over the weekend.
Led by double-doubles from both Conley Langford and Mia Bowen, the Owls raced out to an early 10-5 lead and closed the first quarter with an 18-11 advantage. The squad carried over their momentum into the second frame and got two free throws and a layup from Keayra Hughes with 1:14 to go to put the team up 33-24 at halftime. The Hawks put on quite a rally in the third quarter and outscored The W 20-12 to cut their deficit to just one point heading into the fourth quarter. A jump shot by Makayla Ford reeled the Hawks back within two points of a tied game with 5:02 left to play, but Langford swished home a shot from deep to boost the Owls back up by five points. Fantasia Wilson delivered two makes from the free-throw line with 1:38 left in the game, and The W withstood two more late layups by the Hawks to hold on for its first triumph of the season and its first win over Huntingdon.
Langford finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and Bowen had 14 points and a season-high 15 boards to go along with four blocks and two steals. Wilson and Bo Ciimban each produced eight points, and Jakayla Smith and Huges each finished with four points.
In the Owls’ (1-6, 0-1 SLIAC) second game of the tournament on Sunday the team again got double-doubles from both Bowen and Langford, but this time it was The W pulling off a late rally that fell just short in a 57-54 loss to Austin College.
After falling behind 13-11 heading into the second quarter the Kangaroos ushered in an offensive surge to embark on a 14-5 run to halftime for a 25-18 lead at the break. Both teams battled closely in the third quarter but it was the ‘Roos who found a slight 17-16 scoring edge and held on to their lead despite getting outpaced 20-15 the rest of the way.
Bowen, who tied with Langford with 17 points each, finished with 11 rebounds and six blocks. Langford grabbed 11 boards with two assists and a steal for her school-record 18th double-double. Wilson chipped in 10 points, four rebounds, eight assists, one block and five steals. Lexi Martin led the Kangaroos and the game with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The W is back in action at home at 5:30 p.m. Thursday when it takes on Spalding University in a conference tilt.
MUW men
The W’s men’s basketball grabbed its second win of the season on Saturday with an 89-79 victory over visiting Belhaven University in which six different Owls all hit the double-digit mark in scoring.
The W (2-4, 0-1 SLIAC) won a close battle in the first half for a 41-38 lead at the break and took a 48-41 run to the final buzzer. Powered by 7-of-14 shooting from deep and 59.3% shooting from the floor as a team, Tray Huguley led Owls with 22 points, 14 rebounds and three assists, and Tyler Shephard scored 13 points with two makes from beyond the arch. Joe Haze Austin finished with 12 points, three assists, two blocks and two steals, and Devin McCaine, Jackson Reid and Mal Stansfield scored 10 points each. Mirroring The W’s women’s team, the Owls are next on the court Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Spalding University.
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