Skyhawks battle back for sixth straight win
WEST POINT, Ga. (Jan. 5, 2021) – After trailing by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, the Point University women's basketball team fought back and defeated Union College 53-49 Tuesday night to open the 2021 portion of their season.
With Tuesday's win, the Skyhawks advance to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and put Point only one game out of first place in the conference standings. Union fell to 6-2 (4-1 AAC).
Game flow
Point jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead before Union tied the game 9-9 and took the lead in the final seconds of the first quarter off a triple by Mikayla Homola. Homola kicked off the second quarter with another triple to send the Bulldogs on a 9-0 run. A triple by Nikole Mobley brought the Skyhawks within five, but Union entered the half ahead 25-19. Union went 10-for-19 from the field in the first half, where the Skyhawks were 6-for-26.
In the third quarter, the Skyhawks trailed for over half the period before a three by Iyanna McMillan tied the game at 32, which started an 11-0 run by Point. McMillan followed her three with a two-pointer off an assist by Hannah Williams and Mobley and Nicole Izuagie followed with back-to-back triples to put the Skyhawks ahead 40-32 entering the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Skyhawks led for the entire period, with Union bringing the game within two points off a three by J'Lyn Martin with under five minutes left and within one point off two made free-throws by LeAsia Linton with a little over a minute left. The Skyhawks were able to take advantage of a Bulldog foul, and Marta Gimenez sank both of her shots behind the charity stripe to bring Point's lead back out to three. Williams then scored off a turnover, and Gimenez scored two more free-throws to help Point extend their lead back out to seven. A 3-pointer at the end of regulation by Homola was not enough as the Skyhawks defeated the reigning AAC tournament champions for the first time in nearly two years.
Game leaders
Izuagie and McMillan led with game-highs of 12 points each. Mobley followed with nine points, and Williams followed with eight. Kimberley Forbes had a team-high of 10 rebounds.
Homola led the Bulldogs with 11 points and Brooke Hammonds with 17 rebounds.
"I thought our players really played hard, and our defense was stellar tonight," Head Coach Tory Wooley said. "Union is a really good team, and I couldn't be more proud of the effort our players gave. We forced 40 turnovers, and we knocked down shots when it counted. We have to do a better job of limiting turnovers and knocking down our free throws. If we keep improving on the minor details, this team could be special."
Up next
Point will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 9, as they host St. Andrews at 2 p.m. in an AAC matchup inside West Point Park Gymnasium.