Posted: Jan 11, 2026
Women's Basketball overpowers Huston-Tillotson in Second Half
AUSTIN, Texas - Wiley University women's basketball had three players score in double figures and held Huston-Tillotson University to under 30 percent shooting, as it overcame a slow start in a 66-54 victory in a Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference game Saturday at Mary Branch Gymnasium.
The Lady Wildcats (10-3, 5-1 HBCUAC) improve to 4-1 on the road. It's the first time this season and fourth overall since DeWitt Mandley became head coach in 2023 that they've overcome a halftime deficit. The victory keeps the Lady Wildcats second in the HBCUAC West Division.
Mia Thomas had her most productive game with 15 points. She hit five shots, including two 3-pointers. Thomas shared the team lead with Kelechi Dike in rebounds at eight. Dike followed Thomas with 12 points, while adding three assists, two steals and a block. Moriah Burley scored 10 on three field goals, including two 3-pointers. Alexis Foster started and provided nine points, six rebounds and four assists. Brandy Jones started, posting eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
Wiley outshot the Rams 35.4 to 27.5 percent, including a 19.4 (6-for-31) shooting percentage in the second half. It forced 17 turnovers, with nine resulting from steals, leading to 15 points. The Lady Wildcats dominated the glass, outrebounding Huston-Tillotson 54-40.
The Lady Wildcats trailed 33-21 at halftime after shooting 20.7 percent and committing 13 turnovers. They didn't score until 2:41 left in the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Thomas, which ended an 18-point run for the Rams. Wiley trailed by double-digits the entire second quarter.
Trailing by 10 with 3:51 left in the third, Burley scored a second-chance layup to trim the margin to single digits. Thomas and Foster hit shots to pull the Lady Wildcats within three. Thomas tied the game at 43 with a jumper under a minute left in the quarter. Jones gave them the lead with a 3-pointer, which they took into the fourth quarter.
Steals by Jones and Dike led to layups, which extended the lead to seven. Jones hit a layup to extend the margin to double digits with 2:40 remaining. Jessica Nerestant got a steal to set up a layup for Dike, who gave Wiley its largest lead of the game.
The Lady Wildcats will travel to Tougaloo College on January 17. They dominated the Lady Bulldogs 85-50 at Alumni Gymnasium on November 22. Tougaloo defeated Southern University at New Orleans 60-58.
For more coverage on the Lady Wildcats visit https://www.wileyathletics.com/sports/wbkb/index.
About Wiley University Athletics
Wiley University sponsors 13 varsity sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field, softball and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC).
Wiley University sponsors 13 varsity sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field, softball and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC).
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