Box Score Charleston, WV – The Golden Eagles (8-7, 5-6 WVIAC) defeat Seton Hill (10-8, 7-5 WVIAC) 83-67 on hot outside shooting from Jessi Cowden and converting from the free throw stripe.
UC came out aggressive with a full court trap forcing turnovers and taking the ball to the basket getting to the free throw line frequently to build an early lead. The Griffins went inside to utilize their size advantage but UC was able to contain Katie Gattuso for the most part. Charleston held an 18-11 lead at the 12 minute mark on a triple by Cowden forcing Seton Hill to take a time out to regroup.
UC continued to be aggressive with pressure and taking the ball to the basket resulting in open attempts by their 3-point specialists. Brumby knocked down a three at 7:20 remaining to push the lead out to nine points, 26-17. Charleston built on the lead hitting double digits 30-19 at 6:17 showing on the clock then up to 15 after a Brumby triple making the score 37-22 with nearly 4 minutes left in the first 20 minutes. The teams would match baskets and go into the locker room with the Golden Eagle holding 16 point lead 45-29.
Cowden ended the first with 15 points followed by Brumby with 10, combining on five made 3-point attempts.
Cowden continued her pin point shooting hitting another 3 pointer, followed by lay ups by Kelly and Kier push the Golden Eagle lead out to 23 in the first minute of action. The Griffins respond with a 10-0 run with back to back 3’s to get the deficit back down to 13, 52-39, three minutes into the half. Cowden found her range again knocking down back to back threes and a layup by Kelly pushes the Charleston lead back to 21 with 13 minutes left in the game.
The rest of the game consists of runs by both teams, again Seton Hill goes on a 10-0 run to get within 11 points, 62-51 with nine minutes showing on the clock. Seton Hill gets the deficit down to eight points but Ross nails a 3 to get it back to double digits. Seton Hill continued to fight drawing within 8 but UC seemed to have an answer after each of their runs. Brumby hit a pull up jumper to get the lead out to 11 points, 73-62, with just under 2 to go. Charleston was able to hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory, 83-67.
Cowden had the hot hand for the Golden Eagles going 7-11 from the field, including 6-10 from behind the arc to account for 24 points. As a team UC was very successful from the charity stripe shooting 92% on 24-26 attempts. The Griffins were led by Paige Alviani who contributed 18 points and nine rebounds.
Up next for the Golden Eagles is a home matchup against Wheeling Jesuit on Thursday with tip set for 5:30pm.
