BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Villa Maria College women's basketball team continued their winning ways on Saturday as they defeated Bryant and Stratton-Rochester 63-53 thanks in large part to an 18-8 run in the fourth quarter. With the win, the Vikings rise to 9-1 on the year with a four-game win streak. The Bobcats now hold a mark of 8-4 on the season as they get close to the halfway point.
Villa got off to a strong start in the first quarter as
Bianca Brown knocked down two three-pointers to grab a 10-2 lead at the 3:48 mark.
Dakaylah Winfield hit a shot from behind the arc to extend the advantage to nine, but the Bobcats held their ground to end the first frame. The Vikings held a 16-10 lead going into the second quarter.
Bryant and Stratton attempted to make a comeback, cutting their deficit to under five points multiple times, but key shots dropped for Villa.
Precious Adamson converted a layup to keep the lead at five before
Jordon Wright did the same thing a minute later. After seeing their lead fall to just one point, Brown scored a fast break layup, while
Taliah Bush nailed two free-throws to put them ahead by five yet again. Both units traded makes from the charity stripe as the half winded down, and Villa held a 29-26 advantage when the horn sounded.
The Vikings came out stumbling in the third quarter, falling behind 41-34 at the 3:04 mark.
Norvonee Hall kicked the team into gear with four straight points and Brown converted yet another fast break layup to cut the deficit to just one. With 20 seconds on the clock, Bush hit another pair of free-throws to put the team ahead. After a couple of lead changes, the Bobcats finished the quarter with two free-throws and evened the score at 45-45.
The final frame saw Villa outscore their opponent 18-8, and it helped put the game away.
Estella Anderson kicked it off with a layup that was then followed up with made buckets by Brown and Wright. The Bobcats trimmed their deficit to two, but Brown stopped the run with a fast break layup. Wright continued her strong play and nailed a three-pointer to bring the score to 58-51 with 2:16 to play. The lead hit double digits with 46 seconds to play after Winfield converted on her two trips to the charity stripe. Her two makes turned out to be the final points of the game as the Vikings ran out the clock and finished with the 63-53 victory.
Brown was impressive with 19 points in 25 minutes off of the bench. She shot 7-for-12 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Wright continues to improve game to game, as she scored 15 points, while collecting eight rebounds, and three steals.
The women's basketball team hit the road on Monday when they travel to Jamestown Community College for a 5 p.m. matchup. The game begins of stretch of three games in three days for the Vikings.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Vikings scores and awards by following @VillaVikings on Twitter and by liking the "Villa Maria Vikings" Facebook page.
