CEDARVILLE, OH - It wasn't easy on Saturday afternoon at Cedarville, but the Panthers got it done, taking down the YellowJackets 72-65 en-route to their 22nd win of the year.
Cali Nolot played one of her best games of the second half of the year, going 8-10 from the field and scoring a team leading 17 points.
Wesleyan improves to 22-5 (18-2 G-MAC), while Cedarville closes their season at 7-19 (5-15 G-MAC).
The Panthers took the lead early, going up 11-6 thanks to a big three from
Jordyn Barga. CU cut the lead to three late, but a
Tahlia Walton layup with 19 seconds remaining gave Wesleyan a 19-14 lead after one.
With the Panthers clinging to a two-point lead midway through the second quarter,
Hadley Lytton and Walton hit back-to-back layups to extend KWC's lead back to six, 27-21.
Corina Conley hit a late layup and Wesleyan 31-27 going into the break.
Cali Nolot immediately opened the third with a layup, putting the Panthers up by six. A Barga jumper and a Nolot layup put Wesleyan up 44-35 midway through the quarter, but Cedarville wouldn't let them pull away, closing the frame on a 13-6 run. Two
Corina Conley free throws put Wesleyan up 50-48 with 10 minutes to play.
Cedarville briefly took a lead early in the fourth quarter, but a
Shaylee McDonald three gave the Panthers back the lead. The teams went back-and-forth before Walton gave Wesleyan the lead for good on a layup with 3:21 remaining in the game. Nolot hit a clutch layup and two big free throws to seal the win late.
Wesleyan shot 29-62 (46.8%) from the field and 3-18 (16.7%) from three. The Yellow Jackets shot 18-45 (40%) from the field and 7-17 (41.2%) from behind the arc.
Cali Nolot led the way with 17 points, while Tahlia Walon (15), Shaylee Mcdonald (10), and
Corina Conley (10) also joined her in double-figures. Walton, Conley, and
Jordyn Barga each hauled in six boards, while McDonald dished out five helpers.
Kentucky Wesleyan, who are the #2 seed in the G-MAC Tournament, will host #7 seed Hillsdale in the G-MAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT.
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