Box Score Kentucky Wesleyan won its tenth straight game, as the Panthers cruised to an easy 103-80 victory over Salem International on Saturday afternoon in Salem, Wva. in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play.
The Kentucky Wesleyan women's basketball team rolled over Salem International 88-66 on Saturday afternoon in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play in Salem, Wva. The Panthers picked up their 16th win of the season, and will head to the G-MAC conference tournament with a record of (16-9, 9-5 G-MAC). The Panthers also improve their road record in true road games on the year to 5-4.
The game went back and forth early on in the first quarter, as neither team was able to establish a lead. The game was tied at 23-23 after the first quarter of play. Erin Dorn recorded 10 points in the first quarter.
In the second, the Panthers were able to take the lead by a small margin. After Katie Miller converted on a layup inside the paint, KWC led 36-25 halfway through the quarter. Salem International would close the gap right before the break, as the Panthers led by five at halftime, at 40-35.
The Panthers offense was hitting all cylinders in second half, and KWC out-scored Salem International 30-13 in the third quarter to blow open the game. A quick 15-5 run from the Panthers in the first six minutes of the quarter had Kentucky Wesleyan in control at 55-40. The lead would jump all the way to 22 after the end of the quarter, with the Panthers well ahead comfortably at 70-48.
In the final quarter, the game was all but over. The Panthers' largest lead of the contest was 24, at 72-48 early into the quarter. Kentucky Wesleyan remained well in control in the final minutes of the game, and Salem never stood a chance at a comeback.
Kentucky Wesleyan was led by Erin Dorn, who scored a career-high 22 points on 8-10 shooting from the floor. Jennifer Walker-Crawford also delivered nine points, Katie Miller added eight, Brittany Wells finished with seven, and Jill Jones, Asia Coates, Codie Drake, and Jade Mills-Harris each scored six points apiece in the contest. Bria Wright brought in a team-high nine rebounds, while Codie Drake also grabbed six boards. Katie Miller led the Panthers in assists with four, and also collected a team-high three steals.
The Panthers shot nearly 50% from the field throughout the contest, and led for 90% of the duration of the game. Kentucky Wesleyan also out-rebounded the Tigers by a margin of 41-30, and recorded seven team steals. The Panthers' bench unit also produced 43 points, while the Panthers as a team scored 52 points inside the paint. KWC also forced Salem International into committing 16 turnovers. The Panthers converted on 19 points off of those turnovers. KWC also connected on 21 free throws in the game.
Kentucky Wesleyan will compete in the G-MAC conference tournament at Ursuline next week. The Panthers are currently locked in with the three seed in the standings, and are projected to face Ohio Valley in the first round on Thursday, March 3rd.
