NEWARK, Del. – The Concordia College women's basketball team was on the road for a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) game at Wilmington University (Del.) on Saturday afternoon. The Clippers would edge the Wildcats in an overtime thriller, 75-72, to come away with the road victory.
Wilmington began the first quarter with a 6-2 lead at the 6:00 mark and with under four minutes to go held a 12-5 advantage. From here Concordia used a 12-4 run to end the period to lead 17-16 after 10 minutes of action.
Neither side was able to score a basket until the 6:18 mark of the second quarter as the Wildcats scored the period's first four points to lead 20-17. The Clippers would knot the score at 22-22 following a three-point basket by senior Julianne Wilkinson (Red Hook, N.Y.) with 3:23 remaining on the clock. Both teams would remain tied at halftime, 27-27.
Concordia used an 8-3 run to begin the third quarter as the Clippers led 35-30 at the 7:26 mark. Wilmington would tie the score on three occasions during the period as five unanswered points for the Wildcats to end the quarter gave the home team the 44-41 lead going into the last 10 minutes of regulation.
Wilmington extended their advantage to seven points early in the fourth quarter as Concordia responded with nine unanswered points to lead 52-50 with 5:16 remaining. A back-and-forth battle would ensue with six lead changes until the Clippers led 60-57 at the 1:26 mark. The Wildcats hit a three-point basket with 46 seconds to go in regulation to tie the score at 60-60 as Concordia's shot at the buzzer wouldn't fall, sending the two teams into overtime.
The Clippers scored back-to-back baskets to begin the overtime session as Wilmington responded back with a pair of field goals to tie the score at 64-64 with 3:12 remaining on the clock. Concordia then used a 3-0 run to lead 67-64 and later on would hold a 73-69 advantage at the 26 second mark after a layup from senior Lyric Blanch (Kingston, N.Y.).
The Wildcats used their next possession to knock down a three-point basket and would foul Wilkinson to send her to the free throw line with a second to go. She connected on both free throws as Wilmington was unable to get a shot off on their final possession as Concordia held on for the 75-72 win.
Senior Hadiyah Black (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Clippers with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the double-double as she also added five blocks. Freshman Cameron Corbett (Staten Island, N.Y.) came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists as Wilkinson added 13 points, four rebounds, and two steals.
Concordia (2-15, 2-6 CACC) will return home on Monday for a CACC North Division game against Caldwell University. Tip-off in the Meyer Athletic Center is set for 3 p.m. as fans unable to attend can follow the action by clicking on the live stats and video links under the women's basketball schedule page on ConcordiaClippers.com.