Winthrop women solid for first basketball win
Coming home for Thanksgiving weekend was just what the Winthrop women’s basketball team needed.
After five straight road losses to open the season, including setbacks against Top 20-ranked opponents then-No. 17 Oklahoma and then-No. 14 Duke, the Eagles cracked the win column in their first Winthrop Coliseum appearance on Saturday afternoon, routing N.C. Central 62-39 in front of a crowd of 269.
“It’s been hard, but the schedule will help us as a team,” said junior forward Aliyah Kilpatrick, who scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Winthrop (1-5). “It’s showed us what we need to work on and it should help us get some wins like we did today.”
Junior forward Erica Williams scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and freshman center Arianne Whitaker added 12 points for the Eagles, who led from start to finish – a new experience this season for a roster of players dominated by freshmen and sophomores.
The team’s only senior, starting center Schaquilla Nunn, was lost for the season with a broken foot she suffered in practice earlier this month.
“The schedule has been difficult and we’ve had some things that have tested our mettle already,” Winthrop coach Kevin Cook said. “Now we can see what it feels like to have a little momentum on our side.”
The Eagles built a 29-21 halftime lead with a strong finish in each of the first two quarters. N.C. Central (0-4), led by forward Tisha Dixon’s 15 points, trimmed a 20-11 advantage to 20-19 midway through the second quarter, but a 9-2 run, highlighted by three-pointers from Whitaker and CiiCii Buford, stretched the advantage back to eight at the break.
Winthrop rattled the visiting Eagles with defensive pressure in the second half – Central finished with 28 turnovers – and expanded its lead to as much as 60-33 in the final minute.
“We played a pretty good first and second quarter, but we knew the third quarter has been a problem for us in these games.” Williams said. “We knew we had to come out with some energy and keep it going.”
NOTES: The Eagles open Big South Conference play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Charleston Southern. Winthrop’s next home game is at 1 p.m. Saturday against Big South foe Gardner-Webb. … Three of N.C. Central’s four losses have been against Big South opponents. The Eagles have also lost to Campbell and Longwood. … Central plays at Charlotte on Wednesday.
WINTHROP 62, N.C CENTRAL 39
N.C. Central | 11 | 10 | 8 | 10 | – | 39 |
Winthrop | 17 | 12 | 12 | 21 | – | 62 |
N.C. CENTRAL (0-4)
Tisha Dixon 6-15 3-8 15, Kierona Morton 1-3 0-0 2, Kristin Askew 1-2 1-1 3, Moniq Whaley-Briggs 1-7 0-0 2, Morgan Jones 2-10 1-2 6, Rodneysha Martin 0-2 0-0, Chantal Thomas 1-7 1-3 3, Dominique Adams 3-8 0-0 6, Jayla Calhoun 0-1 0-0 0, Tyshay Britten 0-0 0-0 0, Deja McCain 0-2 0-0 0, Maya Jackson 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 16-60 5-13 39.
WINTHROP (1-5)
Erica Williams 7-16 1-2 16, Arianne Whitaker 6-7 0-0 12, Aliyah Kilpatrick 5-14 0-0 12, Jimechia Banks 4-7 0-0 9, Naimia Jackson 2-7 3-6 7, Nuba Jackson 0-3 0-0 0, Ronata Rogers 0-2 0-0 0, CiiCii Buford 2-9 1-2 6, Ezinne Mbamalu 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 5-10 62.
Three-point goals: N.C. Central 2-11 (Jones 1-6, Askew 1-1), Winthrop 5-14 (Kilpatrick 2-4). Fouled out – None. Rebounds: N.C. Central 52 (Adams 10), Winthrop 42 (Williams 10, Kilpatrick 10). Assists — N.C. Central 10 (Thomas 5), Winthrop 16 (Banks 7) Total fouls — N.C. Central 15, Winthrop 16. Technical fouls — None. A-269.
This story was originally published November 28, 2015 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Winthrop women solid for first basketball win."