Tigers bury Beavers in the fourth

MT. PLEASANT - The Iowa Wesleyan women's basketball team wasn't about to lose to Blackburn College twice. One month and one day after a nine-point loss at Blackburn, the Tigers earned the season split with a 76-66 win.

'I think we know that we didn't play as well as we could have when we played at their place,” said junior guard Morgan McCrea. 'We came out tonight with a chip on our shoulder, and we knew what we had to do to win.”

McCrea led the team early on, scoring nine points in the first two quarters. Allie Massner and Maddie Williamson had eight points apiece in the first half, and the Tigers led 15-13 after the first period and 31-29 at halftime.

Blackburn took the lead midway through the third quarter and the two teams traded blows until the horn blew. Going into the fourth quarter, IW held a one-point lead, at 48-47.

The Tigers buckled down in the fourth quarter. IW got the quality shots in the final minutes, going 8-for-13 from the field, 4-for-9 from 3-point range and 8-for-10 from the line.

After opening up a nine-point lead, at 59-50, after a 3-ball from Massner, Blackburn went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead back to one point. The Beavers trimmed the lead to one on two different occassions in the last five minutes, but the Tigers always had an answer.

IW finished the game 24-for-56 from the field, 11-from-32 from 3-point land and 17-for-20 from the line, besting the Beavers in all three categories. Head coach Temaine Wright said sharing the basketball was what led to those numbers. 'I thought we did a great job of that today,” Wright said. 'Even early on, we weren't making some of those outside shots, but it just wears the defense down, and if we keep getting good looks, they're eventually going to fall. It's just more fun when everybody is involved.”

Maddie Williamson eclipsed the 20-point mark once again, leading the team with 22 points on the night. McCrea had her first career double-double, going for 19 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Sydney Farrar had nine points. Harriet Fowler scored five points and dished out four assists, and Da'Jaah Swolley neded the game with five points of her own.

'We had a tough loss on Saturday against Spalding,” McCrea said. 'So it feels great to bounce back with a big team win.”

IW is now 4-16 overall and 4-9 in conference play. They'll travel to Eureka College on Saturday.