LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The Concordia Clippers women's basketball team kicked off the 2015 calendar year with a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) road game against Georgian Court University on Saturday afternoon. Concordia would be edged by the Lions, 54-52, as the Lions captured their first win of the season.
Georgian Court began the first half with a 15-5 advantage after an 11-0 run gave them the lead midway through the period. The Clippers broke their scoring drought with back-to-back three-point baskets by freshman Julianne Wilkinson (Red Hook, N.Y.) as Concordia used a 14-4 run to knot the score at 19-19 with 3:23 to go in the half. The Lions ended the period with seven of the last 11 points to hold a 26-13 advantage at halftime.
In the second half the Clippers began with five unanswered points to regain the lead. Both teams would be neck-and-neck through the entire period as neither side would gain more then a six-point advantage in the last 20 minutes of action. Concordia would trail by a point with a minute to play but could not take the lead as Georgian Court held on for the 54-52 victory at the GCU Wellness Center.
Freshman Hadiyah Black (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Clippers with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the double-double as she also added a team-best three blocks. Senior Mariah Berry (Southington, Conn.) added 10 points and eight rebounds for Concordia while Wilkinson finished with eight points off the bench.
As a team the Clippers shot 29.1% from the field while the Lions shot 36.1%. Georgian Court out-rebounded Concordia 47-38 as the Clippers' bench out-scored the Lions' bench 14-9.
Concordia (2-8, 2-3 CACC) will next visit Queens (N.Y.) on Monday evening for a non-conference matchup. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. in Flushing, N.Y.