Roanoke, VA – While the students have already returned home for the holidays, the Regent University Women's Basketball still had work to do as they traveled west for a Tuesday night match-up with Hollins University. It was a unique night as Hollins chose to honor their graduating Seniors before tip-off. However, once the ceremony was over, the Royals were ready to get on the court as they searched for their first win under Head Coach Donte Minter.
Hollins scored five straight points to begin the first quarter, but Senior Courtney Rowley (Lusk, WY) converted a driving layup and was fouled in the process. She would make the free throw to trim the lead to two points. After another Hollins basket, Sophomore Shardae Williams (Fredericksburg, VA) added two from the free throw line to keep Regent in striking distance. However, Hollins would go on another run until Freshman Jada Daniels (New York, NY) drained a three-pointer, which was the first of the game for Regent. Sophomore Lindora Lewis (Richmond, VA) followed that up with a long jumper to pull the Royals to within 11 points and then hit a three-pointer of her own, along with a short jumper. A few minutes later, Lewis would keep her scoring streak going with a driving layup and then Senior Lyriq Reyes (Bogota, NJ) and Rowley converted back-to-back threes. However, as the second quarter came to an end, Regent headed to the locker room trailing 47-27.
Williams opened up the third quarter with three straight points for the Royals, while eventually grabbing her 10th rebound of the game. Lewis continued to find the basket, with another layup, as Regent began to solve the Hollins zone defense. Rowley was able to add four straight points and then on the other end of the court, the Royals' defense forced their 12th turnover of the game. Williams remained active on the offensive boards in the fourth quarter and then after a foul, Sophomore My'Angel Carter (Toccoa, GA) would make one of two free throws for her first points of the game. That was followed by a driving left-handed layup by Junior Jasmeen Lemons (Houston, TX) but on the next possession, Hollins had an answer. With just over four minutes remaining in the game, Freshman Kaitlyn Russell (Fredericksburg, VA) came off the bench and scored her second basket of the season, but as the final buzzer sounded, Regent would fall by a final score of 84-50.
Rowley and Lewis finished the game with 13 points each, while Rowley added 10 rebounds (3 offensive and 7 defensive) for the double-double. In addition, Williams led the Royals with a team-high 14 rebounds (10 offensive and 4 defensive) and as a team Regent finished with 11 second chance points.
The Royals will be back in action on December 17th when they return home to host University of South Carolina-Beaufort. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00pm.
