Virginia Beach, VA - With just one more game standing between the Regent University Women's Basketball team and their holiday break, the Royals took their final stand at home of 2024, as they faced off with The University of South Carolina-Beaufort on Tuesday afternoon. The Royals and the Sand Sharks met last year in South Carolina, and this was USCB's first trip to the 757. Regent was fresh off their second highest scoring game of the year, and both Senior Courtney Rowley (Lusk, WY) and Sophomore My'Angel Carter (Taccoa, GA) looked to help lead the way to the Royals' first win of the season.
The first quarter began with Senior Lyriq Reyes (Bogota, NJ) opening up the scoring for Regent and then she would force a quick steal followed by an assist to Carter for an easy layup. Carter would add five rebounds to the stat sheet for the Royals in the first quarter, to along with her four points. She is currently ranked #23 in the nation for rebounding in the NCCAA, averaging 8.6 rebounds per game and is fresh off a career high game in rebounds. While the first quarter proved to be a tough battle for Regent, they seemed determined to bring the game back within reach after the first ten minutes of play. As time was running down, Carter converted a free throw and followed that up with a layup, which was assisted by Rowley who also added a three pointer with under a minute left to go in the first half. After a second quarter battle, the Royals headed to the locker room trailing 43-15.
The third quarter marked the highest scoring quarter of the game for Regent. Rowley led the cause with just under half of the total points scored in the quarter for the Royals. Reyes would tally three total assists in the quarter, and helped supplement Rowley's 75% field goal percentage in the quarter. Regent was able to convert 50% of their total three pointers in the compared to UCSB's 16%. The Royals also applied great defensive pressure on the Sand Sharks in the third quarter, forcing four total steals. Eventually, USCB found their way to the free throw line which helped increase their advantage. The fourth quarter mirrored the previous ones, with Carter adding four more rebounds to her total of 12 in the game, which is just two shy of her career record. However, as the final buzzer sounded, Regent would fall to the Sand Sharks by a final score of 88-32.
Rowley finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds, while Carter helped the Royals on both ends, finishing with nine points and 12 rebounds, just one point away from continuing her impressive streak of double-doubles. Reyes nearly set a season high assist record, finishing with five assists to go along with her seven rebounds (6 offensive and 6 defensive). Regent will head home to their respective families and will find themselves back into the swing of things at home against Warren Wilson College on Saturday, January 11th. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
