Skyhawks bounce back with a win against Johnson

WEST POINT, Ga. (Nov. 15, 2022) - The Point University women's basketball team returned to action Tuesday night in the West Point Park Gymnasium for an Appalachian Athletic Conference against Johnson University and picked up the win 67-56. 

Right off the tip, Mirial Cannon connected with Mataea Boyd to set the tone with the first points of the game. The Royals added their score, but Boyd followed with a corner three to put the Skyhawks back ahead. As the first period continued, the Skyhawks' mixture of crashing the boards and shooting helped extend their lead to 13-5. Johnson's three-pointer cut Point's lead to five, followed by two free throws to bring it to 13-10. Sheyvonne Owens returned the favor with a mid-range jump shot to push it back to a five-point game. Chinedu Nnadi scored the next two buckets for the Skyhawks with two made threes to push their lead to double digits to end the quarter. 

The Royals cut Point's lead to single digits with a sniper shot from behind the arc, but Chinedu Nnadi added her third three-pointer to push the score to 24-13 at the beginning of the second period. The Skyhawks continued to find gaps in Johnson's zone defense as Ananda Hughley knocked the high post jump shot to add to Point's double-digit lead. As the half continued to narrow down, Point's attack to the rim was a success as Boyd knocked down two free throws. Dominique Cooke entered the fray with a scored layup, and on the next possession, Chinedu Nnadi knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the half. The Skyhawks only allowed two more points as they went into halftime with a 37-20 lead. 

Johnson started the second half with a made three-pointer with hopes of slowing the Skyhawks, but an offensive rebound by Ky'Leo Worriels helped Point get their score of the half. The Royals continued to attack as they knocked down two free throws, which set up a made three-pointer on the next possession to now trail 39-28. Point finally shook off their cold start to the half with a scored layup from Mataea Boyd. Point continued to slow the game's pace down as Sheyvonne Owens crashed the boards for an offensive rebound to score the next layup. The Skyhawks continued to make their presence known in the paint as their next three scores came from layups to extend their lead to 49-31 to end the quarter. 

Entering the final period of play, Nnadi started the quarter with another made three to put the Skyhawks ahead by 21. Ananda Hughley scored the next two layups for the Skyhawks but Johnson responded with a shot behind the arc to give the Royals another shot at an attempted comeback. After a made three from Ananda Hughley and a layup from Mataea Boyd, the Skyhawks took their biggest game lead with 27. As the Skyhawks looked to finish the Royals, Johnson put together positive offensive possessions to give them life on the offensive end. With two minutes left, the Skyhawks allowed two more scores before finishing with a 67-56 win. 

In the box 

Mataea Boyd led the Skyhawks with 21 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. Chinedu Nnadi added 17 points with five made threes and five rebounds. Ky'Leo Worriels led the team in rebounds with 11. 

Coach's Quote 

Head Coach, Tory Wooley, was pleased with his team's play and how everyone contributed to the win. "I thought our ladies came out and put together a solid bounce-back game from Saturday. We played with a sense of urgency, and the overall performance from Chinedu and Mataea was really special. This was an overall team win. Nikki's five assists and Ky'Leo's 11 rebounds were also great contributions." 

Up next 

The Skyhawks will return to action for a road AAC matchup against Columbia College on Saturday, Nov. 19, starting at 2:00 P.M.