BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Villa Maria College women's basketball team hosted Central Penn College on Saturday and after an exciting, back-and-forth game, the Vikings fell by a score of 83-78. Villa now holds a record of 17-4, while the Knights move to 13-2. 
 
The Vikings got off to a strong start with buckets by Dakaylah Winfield, Jordon Wright and Bianca Brown to grab a 7-2 lead. The Knights battled consistently and used a run of their own to grab a one-point advantage, but a pair of free-throws by Tekia Gary helped put an end to scoring. As the first quarter came to an end, Winfield hit a three-pointer give the team a 14-12 advantage. 
 
Villa began to put their foot on the gas when Ta Lia Burgess and Taliah Bush both finished at the basket before Gary and Winfield made three-pointers to put their unit ahead 24-15. The teams began to exchange makes, and Brown, Estella Anderson and Wright all contributed baskets to make sure Villa was ahead by five. As the clock counted down to zero, the Knights hit a layup. But the Vikings led, 37-35 at halftime. 
 
As the third quarter began, Winfield hit another three to keep the team ahead and Brown followed moments later. The Knights too control half way through the frame, pushing ahead by eight points with 3:43 to play. The Vikings chipped away thanks to a made three by Brown, two made free-throws by Bush and then a layup by Burgess, which cut the deficit to just one point. After see the Knights lead extend to five, Winfield knocked down yet another three, which was followed by a Brown free-throw to bring the score to 57-56 with one quarter to go. 
 
The Vikings fell behind by eight in the opening two minutes of the final frame, but they once again made a run, starting with a layup by Wright. Burgess proceeded to hit a three, before her layup put the deficit at one. A few seconds later, Brown converted a shot from beyond the arc to tie the score at 66-66. As the final quarter continued, the Knights took control and did not let go of it and as the final horn went off, Villa fell by a final score of 83-78.
 
Winfield finished the day with 18 points, shooting 6-for-11 from three and also added eight assists. Brown and Anderson each contributed 16 points, with Anderson recording a double-double with ten rebounds. 
 
The Vikings will wrap up their regular season on Wednesday, Feb. 19 when they travel to Bryant and Stratton-Syracuse for a 7 p.m. game. 
 
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.