CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Charleston defeated the UVa. Wise Cavaliers 60-54 Saturday afternoon to take sole possession of first place in the Mountain East Conference.
The Golden Eagles used a balanced scoring attack led by
Nichole Perry's 11 points and four assists followed by 10 points each from
Kiara Johnson and
Monet Saunders who also combined for 14 rebounds. The UC bench once again played a big role in the win as
DeJanique Reddix turned in nine points and
Ashley Milligan chipped in eight to lead Charleston to a 19-9 advantage over the Cavaliers in bench scoring.
Despite turning the ball over 14 times, UC shot 54% from the field with most of those shots coming from inside the paint. Charleston had 38 points in the paint compared to just 20 from Wise.
The Cavaliers had three double-figure scorers led by Blair Harding's game-high 16 points. Katie Jo Dockery followed with 11 points and Taylor Sandidge rounded out the scoring with 10.
UC built their biggest lead of nine points, 22-13, late in the first half after Perry drained a three on a assist by Saunders on a nice inside out play. The Cavaliers responded with an 11-0 run to take their last lead of the game at 24-22 with 1:35 left in the half. Charleston finished with a 9-2 run over the last minute and a half to carry a 31-26 lead to the break.
The Cavaliers rallied to tie the game at 40-40 with 13:43 remaining after Harding knocked down one of her two threes. The two teams traded punches over the final 13 minutes with the margin never going beyond five points. Leading by two, 54-52, UC pounded the paint and got layups by Reddix and Perry to close out the Cavaliers down the stretch and earn a 60-54 win.
The win was Charleston's 20th of the year and improved their overall record to 20-5 and 15-4 in MEC play. UC also took over the top spot of the Mountain East after learning of Shepherd's loss to Wheeling Jesuit.
The Golden Eagles travel to Urbana on Thursday to face a Blue Knight team they defeated 85-58 back in January. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. from Urbana, Ohio.
