Eagles step up, scorch GWU
On paper, Winthrop’s Big South women’s basketball game against Gardner-Webb at Winthrop Coliseum on Saturday shaped up as a tall order.
The Bulldogs came into the game with a 5-1 record, including a season-opening victory over then-Top 20 ranked North Carolina. But pressure defense and an efficient offense sparked the Eagles (2-6, 1-1 Big South) to an easy 81-62 victory over the visitors in front of 289 fans at Winthrop Coliseum.
Junior forward Erica Williams scored 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and junior guard Aliyah Kilpatrick contributed 22 points and 12 rebounds for Winthrop, which won for the second time in three games.
Jimecheia Banks and Arianne Whitaker added 11 each for the Eagles.
“I hope this helps us turn the corner,” Winthrop coach Kevin Cook said. “It was a tremendous defensive effort and we handled the ball very well against constant pressure.”
Candace Brown scored 24 points and Alexus Hill added 16 for Gardner-Webb (5-2, 1-1), which led for much of the first quarter.
“Coach wrote on the blackboard in the locker room ‘Keep Your Poise,’ and that was important for us today,” Williams said. “Once we settled down and played our game things turned out all right.”
Winthrop led 39-27 at halftime and extended that advantage to as many as 22 points in the second half, holding the Bulldogs to a 2-for-18 shooting night from behind the three-point arianne
Turning point
Gardner-Webb took its largest lead of the game at 13-8 on a layup by Alexus Hill with 2 minutes and 49 seconds left in the first quarter. But the Eagles closed the quarter on a 12-4 run, taking the lead for good at 18-15 on Jimecheia Banks’ three-pointer with 55 seconds left.
Critical
The Eagles have won the turnover margin battle in both of their wins this season. Winthrop forced Gardner-Webb into 16 turnovers while the Eagles committed a season-low four.
Star contributions
Williams extended her double-figure scoring streak to 22 games. Kilpatrick scored 14 of her 22 points in the second half. Her 12 rebounds was a career high. Three Eagles — Williams, Kilpatrick and Banks — played all 40 minutes.
On deck
Winthrop plays its next four games on the road to close out the 2015 portion of the schedule, starting with a 2 p.m. meeting with No. 2-ranked South Carolina in Columbia on Dec. 13. The next home game is a Big South contest against Longwood on Jan. 2.
Box score
WINTHROP 81, GARDNER-WEBB 62
GARDNER-WEBB (5-2, 1-1)
Olivia Parker 4-11, 4-6 12, Alicia Quinn 0-0 0-0 0, Tierra Huntsman 0-6 0-0- 0, Candace Brown 8-15, 6-8 24, Alexus Hill 8-13 0-1 16, Charlisa Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Kiera Currie 1-5 2-2 4, Aunesha Williams 0-3 0-0 0, Evelyn Adebayo 0-2 0-0 0, Celia Tibbs 1-1 0-0 2, Lovely Locklear 0-4 0-0 0, Ky’Asia Stanford 2-4 0-2 4, Morgan Ackermann 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 24-64 12-21 62.
WINTHROP (2-6, 1-1)
Arianne Whitaker 4-7 3-3 11, Ezinne Mbamalu 1-5 0-0 2, Aliyah Kilpatrick 9-22 4-6 22, Jimechia Banks 4-11 1-2 11, Erica Williams 9-20 6-7 24, Nuba Jackson 1-2 0-0 2, 2-7 Naima Jackson 4-7 0-0 8, Ronata Rogers 0-2 1-2 1. TOTALS 32-76 15-20 81.
Gardner-Webb 17-10-13-22 – 62
Winthrop 20-19-21-21 – 81
Three-point goals: Gardner-Webb 2-18 (Brown 2-5), Winthrop 2-7 (Banks 2-4). Fouled out – Winthrop: Whitaker. Rebounds: Gardner-Webb 45 (Parker 11), Winthrop 45 (Kilpatrick 12). Assists — Gardner-Webb 9 (Hill 6), Winthrop 11 (Kilpatrick 4). Total fouls — Gardner-Webb 19, Winthrop 18. Technical fouls — None. A-289.
This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Eagles step up, scorch GWU."