ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop women's basketball team saw its season come to an end Tuesday evening as the Eagles fell 64-52 to the Presbyterian Blue Hose in the first round of the Big South Women's Basketball Tournament.
Winthrop finishes the season at 10-20 overall while Presbyterian improves to 7-23. The Blue Hose advance to the quarterfinals and will face the top-seeded Radford Highlanders on Thursday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A low-scoring first quarter saw the Eagles score the only two points of the first six minutes of the contest. Presbyterian scored seven straight points but a late bucket by Winthrop brought the Blue Hose lead down to 7-4 after the opening 10 minutes.
Winthrop grabbed the first two points of the second quarter but continued to struggle from the field. Presbyterian scored six quick points to go up 13-6. The Blue Hose began to increase their lead as they traded three-pointers for Winthrop's two-pointers. Presbyterian knocked down five shots from long range in the second quarter and capped it off with a buzzer-beating three to go up 29-14 at the break.
Presbyterian pushed its lead to 20 points in the opening four minutes of the second half. After an Eagle timeout, Winthrop started putting pressure on the Blue Hose, causing turnovers and went on a quick 5-0 spurt, prompting a Presbyterian timeout. The Blue Hose settled down after the break and took a 52-36 lead into the final quarter.
Winthrop tried to make a run on the Blue Hose in the fourth quarter and started getting to the free-throw line in the final minutes but the deficit was too much for the Eagles to overcome. Presbyterian hung on for the 64-52 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Desntinee Jamison and
Kem Nwabudu tied for the team lead with 10 points each as
Anika Riley led the Eagles with six rebounds. Presbyterian was led by Trinity Johnson with 24 points while Salina Virola scored 18 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.
After tough shooting in the first half, the Eagles finished shooting 34 percent for the game while the Blue Hose shot 39 percent. Winthrop again struggled from long range, connecting on only one of 12 three-point attempts. Presbyterian edged the Eagles on the boards 41-39.
