Women’s Basketball snaps Milligan’s win streak with a big victory on the road
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (Jan. 19, 2023) -The Point University women's basketball team took the court Thursday night, two days after their previous game, to face off against Milligan University in an Appalachian Athletic Conference Road game and fought their way for the 72-59 win.
Marta Gimenez and Mataea Boyd got the Skyhawks on the scoreboard fast as they scored the first two baskets for the Skyhawks. Mirial Cannon followed suit with a layup in response to the three-pointer made by the Buffaloes. Point's hot start continued to pay dividends as Mataea Boyd and Mirial Cannon tackled two more baskets to lead by five. Milligan retaliated with a layup to bring their deficit to three, but that would not last long as Jasmine Griggs knocked down the jump shot to bring their lead to 14-9. The Buffaloes cut Point's lead to one with a layup, and two made free throws. Ky'Leo Worriels strong presence in the paint tonight started with a layup that brought the Skyhawks to a 17-15 lead to end the first quarter.
As Milligan started the second period with a layup to tie the game, Ky'Leo Worriels struck again with another solid layup to put Point back in the driver's seat. The Buffaloes remained composed by responding with two made jumpers, giving Milligan their first lead of the game. Kyra Hart came off the bench and made an immediate impact by making the smooth floater to tie the game at 21. Both teams traded baskets until the Skyhawks converted six consecutive free throws to put them ahead by four. Point continued to get their offense back on board as Kyra Hart made another jumper to push the Skyhawks ahead with a score of 29-23. Milligan did not take long to make the game close again as Kristy Galea knocked down the triple to trail by three. As the quarter moved along, Sheyvonne Owens and Ky'Leo Worriels helped Point move ahead by seven, with Worriels making the last two layups of the quarter. The Buffaloes brought their deficit to four going into the half as they converted on the three-pointer.
Ky'Leo Worriels picked up where she left off as Mirial Cannon connected with Worriels for the layup to put Point on the scoreboard first in the third quarter. The Skyhawks' lead jumped to nine points when Marta Gimenez knocked down the triple. Milligan's offense tried to match the intensity from Point as they finally scored their first basket of the half at the 6:53 mark. Ky'Leo Worriels continued to dominate the paint as she was responsible for the following two scores for Point. Milligan cut their deficit to four by scoring the three-pointer and a layup on the following possession. Marta Gimenez did not waste any time responding to the three-pointer from the Buffaloes as she splashed a three-ball of her own. The barrage of threes from each team continued as Lauren Longmire from Milligan connected with the bottom of the net with another shot behind the arc. Ky'Leo Worriels scored the last basket for the Skyhawks in the quarter, and Madi Runnels for the Buffaloes would retaliate with a buzzer-beater layup.
The Buffaloes started the final period of play with two made free throws along with a jumper made from Lauren Longmire to tie the game at 53. Mataea Boyd wiped away the tie as she finished with the firm take to the lane for two. Milligan knocked down a three-pointer to take the lead with a score of 56-55 before the Skyhawks called a timeout. Point wiped away the Buffaloes' lead as Ky'Leo Worriels' strong game continued with her knocking down the jump shot and following with a layup on the next possession to put Point ahead by four. The steal from Jasmine Griggs set up the three-pointer from Mataea Boyd to help the Skyhawks add to the momentum that was being created. Point pushed their lead to nine as Boyd breezed past the defense for the layup to bring the score 65-59. With under two minutes left in the game, Marta Gimenez converted the acrobatic layup to give the Skyhawks their most significant lead with 11. After the two made free throws from Gimenez, the Buffaloes looked for one final answer as they knocked down the three-pointer to trail by 10. The Skyhawks converted their final three out of four free throws to win 72-59. This win snapped Milligan's five-game winning streak while snapping the Buffaloes' 20-game AAC home winning streak.
In the box
Ky'Leo Worriels was a force to be reckoned with as she led the Skyhawks with 21 Points, nine rebounds, one steal and two blocks. Marta Gimenez followed with 18 Points, four rebounds and six assists. Mataea Boyd contributed with 15 Points, five steals and one rebound.
Coach's Quote
Head Coach, Tory Wooley, was ecstatic with the team's effort on the road. "I couldn't be more proud of our ladies for the job they did tonight. This was the biggest road win of the season thus far for our team. The leadership of our senior backcourt of Marta and Jasmine was exceptional today. They put us in the right places on the court. Senior guard, Kyra Hart, played huge for us alongside Mataea Boyd. Ky'Leo Worriels had a huge performance today on both sides of the ball. Her teammates did a great job of finding her in the paint as she was able to capitalize and put us on her back. Overall, this was a great team win, and we're excited to get back on the court to finish this week out strong."
Up next
The Skyhawks will return to action on Saturday, January 21, for a home AAC matchup against Union College starting at 4:00 P.M.