Women’s Basketball takes down Reinhardt on the road

WALESKA, Ga. (Jan. 31, 2023) - The Point University women's basketball team started their road trip Tuesday evening by taking on Reinhardt University in an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup to win with a final score of 68-56.

The Eagles jumped on the scoreboard first, with the first baskets going on their side to take the early 4-0 lead. Point did not take long to get their first score as Mataea Boyd connected with Mirial Cannon for the layup. Both opponents' next few offensive possessions were not left empty-handed as layups were traded back to back, which gave Reinhardt the three-point advantage. As the quarter ended, Mataea Boyd made her first three-pointer of the game to tie it at 9 and followed with a buzzer-beating three to give the Skyhawks a 12-9 going into the the second quarter. 

The Eagles wiped away Point's lead by starting the second period of play with made jumpers. Marta Gimenez and Jasmine Griggs responded with layups of their own to give the Skyhawks a 16-15 lead. The Eagles relied on their jump shots to get their lead back as Reinhardt made a mid-range jumper along with a three-pointer to jump ahead by four. Point remained composed, coming out of their timeout by matching the energy from Reinhardt, which started with Destinee Ellison knocking down the jump shot. Mataea Boyd followed with a three-pointer to give Point the lead by one with 3:05 left. The Eagles continued to show their will to respond as Reinhardt regained the lead with a triple. Ky'Leo Worriels stepped up with a solid layup to tie the game at 23 going into the half. 

Reinhardt jumped on the scoreboard first as Julia Craft scored the first layup to bring their lead 25-23. Both opponents continued to keep their offense flowing by getting in the net consistently. The Eagles remained in charge with a score of 31-27 as the Skyhawks took a timeout. Jasmine Griggs retaliated with a three-pointer made to bring their deficit to three points, but that would last long as the Eagles followed with their triple to extend the lead to six. Point started to tap into their third-quarter momentum that has been seen before as Jasmine Griggs converted on free and Marta Gimenez knocked down the three-point ball. Reinhardt did, however, counter their momentum by continuing to stay consistent with the jump shot, which saw their lead move to 44-39. Mataea Boyd converted on the three-point ball to send the Skyhawks down two points heading into the fourth quarter. 

Point started the quarter strong as Jasmine Griggs converted on the jump shot, which was followed by a layup from Ky'Leo Worriels to jump ahead by two. The Eagles brought the game back to a tie at 46 as Julia Craft swiped past the defense for the layup. Point moved their lead back to four as Mirial Cannon comverted two free throws from the charity stripe and Ky'Leo Worriels' layup in the paint. After the jump shot in response to Point, Mataea Boyd finished through the contact for the and-one layup, followed by the made free throw to give Point the 53-48 lead with 5:39 remaining. Ky'Leo Worriels continued to assert her dominance in the paint as she made another layup which pushed the Skyhawks' lead to five. Reinhardt looked to ice the momentum by Point as the Eagles scored the next two baskets to trail by three. Ky'Leo Worriels continued to create problems for the defense as she made the mid-range jumpshot to bring it back to five. Point added fuel to the fire when Marta Gimenez knocked down the big three-point shot to bring their lead to 60-52 with 1:20 left. Reinhardt continued to try to find answers for the late run by Point and would score the layup before calling a timeout. In the final minute, the Skyhawks allowed only two more points and finished the game by making their last eight free throws to win with a final score of 68-56. 

In the box 

Mataea Boyd led with a double-double as she finished with 17 Points, 10 Rebounds, four assists and one steal. Ky'Leo Worriels added 16 Points, five rebounds and two blocks. Marta Gimenez and Jasmine Griggs both contributed with double-digit scoring, as Gimenez finished with 14 Points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Griggs finished with 13 Points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. 

Coach's Quote 

Head Coach, Tory Wooley, was highly pleased with how hard his team played and stayed as one throughout the game. "I'm so proud of our ladies hard fought victory. They played extremely hard and together. This group of ladies is truly special. We're constantly speaking of their value and worth, not just on the court but off the court. It's a joy to see how hard they play for one another and believe in each other, which is a true testimony of their character. We had excellent guard play down the stretch. Mataea hit some huge 3's to get us going, and Ky'Leo had a big second half scoring the ball. Jasmine and Marta's leadership and play has been special. Going 19-19 from the free throw line on the road was one of the deciding factors to tonight's game, and his was an overall great team win for everyone on our team." 

Up next 

Point will continue their road trip this weekend as they travel to Knoxville, Tenn. For a road AAC Matchup against Johnson University starting at 2:00 P.M.