Rivalry weekend ended in the first Southwestern Athletic Conference win of the season for Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats held on for an 80-76 win to start conference play on Saturday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium.
A fast-paced first quarter saw Bethune-Cookman (10-4, 1-0 SWAC) and Florida A&M (1-11, 0-1 SWAC) separated by just one thanks to a pair of and-ones and a Chanel Wilson three ball.
B-CU led by as much as five in the second on a three from O’Mariyah Tucker that made it 24-19.
The Wildcats closed the half on an 8-2 run, including two Wilson buckets,to hit the break up 35-26.
A quick layup and a pair of free throws pulled FAMU back within five to start the second half before a contested layup from D’Shantae Edwards and another transition bucket from Tucker made it 41-32.
The Wildcats broke things open from there, running up a 15-4 run to make it 53-38 with just over two minutes to play in the third.
FAMU’s Olivia Delancy kept the Rattlers in the game as her pull-up jumper cut the deficit to single digits with eight minutes remaining in the third.
Someone forgot to guard D'Shantae…😼
📺 https://t.co/rK6sMzfGMF #𝙃𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙨 #𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙮𝙏𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 pic.twitter.com/mjQcgSevbs
— Bethune-Cookman WBB (@BCUWBB) January 6, 2024
Nashani Gilbert again put FAMU down nine with an offensive rebound and put-back, but Kayla White’s jumper at the end of the shot clock again ballooned the lead to 11. Her three with four minutes remaining made it 67-55, forcing a Rattlers timeout.
Delancy’s block turned into a FAMU ball, which she cashed in with a corner three to make it just a four-point game with three minutes remaining. The Cats quickly punched back as Kayla Clark’s full-court inbound pass found Edwards for a quick bucket.
Another wide open transition pass found Kerrighan Dunn with just 40 seconds remaining to put the cats up 77-71.
A game of free throws saw B-CU miss a pair to give FAMU possession down just 79-75 with 14 seconds remaining. Daimoni Dorsey came up with a steal, drawing a foul to make it 80-75.
One more FAMU free throw made it 80-76, but that was all as the Wildcats held on for the win.
Chanelle McDonald led B-Cu with a season-high 20 points on 5-8 shooting and 10-11 at the free throw line. She also added seven rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Four other Wildcats finished in double figures. Wilson had 14, Edwards 12, White 11, and Clark 11 in the win.
Courtesy: Bethune-Cookman Athletics
