OWENSBORO, KY – Kentucky Wesleyan women's basketball (4-3) got back on track Thursday evening as they took down Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (7-5) 91-59. The Panthers return to the Sportscenter after dropping two games last weekend to the top two teams currently in the G-MAC, Ashland and Malone.
 
"This win gives us a lot of confidence," Sydnee Richetto said. "We lost to two really tough teams on the road last weekend. We needed a get-back game, and I think this is going to set us in the right direction."
 
Richetto, senior guard and former Wofford transfer, has been on an absolute tear recently. In the last two games, she has scored 48 points on 70% shooting (21-30 FG). She set a career-high with 23 points on Monday against Malone and then bested herself once again tonight with 25 points to go along with four rebounds.
 
"We've had a lot of injuries lately, so I felt like I had to step up," Richetto said. "My teammates have trusted me so that's been a big part of [my performance]. I just had to get my confidence back."
 
Richetto started right where she left off, as she got her layup to fall just 90 seconds into the contest. Freshman Emma Bruwer showed out in her first career start, driving and scoring two tough buckets on consecutive possessions. Richetto sunk a floater with 13 seconds left to give the Panthers a 18-17 lead at the quarter end.
 
Early in the second quarter, Arielle Dabu made a layup, picked off the Pomeroys' pass, and scored another layup on the fastbreak. Soon after, the Panthers went on a 12-0 run led by Myah Montgomery's scoring and Lena Stinebrickner's passing. Montgomery scoring six points while Stinebrickner recorded three assists on three consecutive possessions. Carson Sisk also had two points and two assists during that 3:52 span. Asia Sawyers scored six unanswered points to finish a phenomenal quarter for Wesleyan as they outscored SMWC 28-11.
 
Montgomery drilled two triples early in the third. Vilborg Jonsdottir, returning to action after nursing an ankle injury, drove hard and scored in the lane. Dabu and Richetto each made threes to give Wesleyan a whopping 26-point lead entering the final frame.
 
Richetto made a layup to break her three-day-old scoring record with over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Montgomery continued to light it up behind the arc as she hit two more triples on back-to-back possessions.
 
Montgomery set a career-high in points (20) and three-pointers (4) as well as a season-high in rebounds (5). Sawyers finished with a career-high in points (18) and rebounds (10) while recording the first double-double of the season for Wesleyan. Bruwer and Dabu each finished with nine points. Riley Neal and Sisk each pulled down seven boards. Stinebrickner dished out a career-high seven assists. With Shiya Hoosier and Ilani Williams-Harris out for the foreseeable future, the Panthers were looking for somebody to step up.
 
"Riley stepped up big last game playing a lot of minutes and Emma stepped up today in her first start," Richetto said. "We've had people playing in positions they've never played in before, posts playing guard and guards playing post. We have confidence in each other, and we trust each other."
 
Wesleyan will be back at the Sportscenter on December 22^nd for a Sunday matchup against Missouri Baptist at 1 p. m.
 
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