Women's Basketball falls to Dillard

Wiley University women's basketball player Ashunti Cooper recorded a career-high 23 points however, it wasn't enough for the Lady Wildcats, who fell 76-56 to Dillard University in a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference game Friday at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Lady Wildcats (10-7, 5-4 GCAC) lose consecutive home games for the first time since the 2021-22 season. The loss drops them to fifth in the conference standings, trailing Dillard by a game. For the second straight game, the Lady Wildcats were without their leading scorer Jamiya Eaddy. Preseason All-GCAC First Team selection Diamond Hawthorne remained inactive.

Cooper shot 9-for-14, including 3-for-5 from 3-point territory. She also added four steals, a rebound and an assist. Her teammates only hit nine of 40 shots, including one of 15 three-pointers. Minnie Miller followed Cooper with seven points, four rebounds and two assists. Kiersten Harris shared the team lead in assists with Alayia Francis at three – and led the team in steals with five. Elizabeth Camacho recorded a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with two assists.

The Lady Wildcats were outshot 44.6 to 33.3 percent. It also struggled possessing the ball committing 32 turnovers – which led to 33 points for the Bleu Devils. In the first quarter, Wiley didn't score until four minutes remaining and didn't hit their first field goal until 3:27 left. It trailed 13-6 after the first.

Wiley trailed by as many as 11 in the second quarter. Jumpers by Cooper and Harris, and a pair of free throws by Cailan Hale trimmed the margin to five. Dillard pushed its lead back to eight, foul shots and a jumper by Brianna Garrett pulled Wiley within three. It trailed 31-25 at halftime.

The shooting struggles returned in the third quarter, as the Lady Wildcats only hit four of 13 shots and turned the ball over 16 times. Dillard outscored them 22-9 to increase its lead to 19. It would lead by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Wildcats are scheduled to host Southern University at New Orleans at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The Lady Knights were scheduled to play at Philander Smith University on Thursday but did not have enough players.

For more coverage on the Lady Wildcats visit Women's Basketball - Wiley University (wileyathletics.com)

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