JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –
Second half scoring droughts and untimely turnovers made the difference in
taking Bethune-Cookman from a promising start in the opening half to a 14-point
loss at the final whistle, in Monday's matchup with Jacksonville at Swisher
Gymnasium.
“Tonight we beat ourselves on the little things,” Head Coach
Vanessa Blair said. “We've got to take care of ourselves, take care of our
business, then we should be able to compete with anyone.”
The scoring was slow but steady in the early going, as B-CU
controlled the tempo in all facets of the game, with the Lady Wildcats taking
their first lead on a pair of Terrenisha Hollis free throws with 12:20 to go in
the first.
A Chastity René Taylor three-pointer jumpstarted a nearly
three minute, 9-0 run on the dolphins, building up a 20-11 lead, however, as
the dolphins rallied, the Lady Wildcats scored just three in the final nine
minutes. B-CU trailed JU 26-23 at the half.
JU was able to alter the tempo in the second half and force
B-CU to pick up the pace on both ends, spreading the floor to get the Lady
Wildcats out of position on consecutive-possession three pointers in the
opening minutes of the second period, and allowing JU to create a separation to
spark a 14-2 run.
“They play a smaller lineup, outside of the big girl,” Blair
said, “It was a little different for us to have to play four guards with one single
post. “
After leading by nine, the Lady Wildcats fell to the
Dolphins, 68-54, in their first loss of the season.
Junior forward Amanda Hairston was solid from the free throw
line, hitting six-of-eight, and played a physical game inside, notching
five-of-six from the field along with a team-high nine rebounds. She finished
with 16 points, a season high.
Jasmine Evans and Taylor each joined Hairston in double
figures, with 11 and 10, respectively.
The Lady Wildcats (1-1) return to action on Friday at historic
Moore Gymnasium, with Florida Atlantic making the journey to Daytona Beach.
-www.BCUathletics.com-