Winston-Salem, NC - After a hard-fought loss on Tuesday, the Regent University Women's Basketball team traveled to North Carolina, to face off against Salem College on Friday night. This was the first time these teams had ever matched up, and the Royals were looking to play a complete game to get their first win of the season.
Regent had a slow start in the first quarter, only scoring 4 points on 2 free throws from Junior Shardae Williams (Fredericksburg, VA) and a mid-range jumper in the last seconds from Freshman Mikaylah Telfer (Chesapeake, VA). Even though the offense started slowly, the Royals had a strong defensive effort, allowing the Spirits only 12 points in the quarter.
Telfer's jumper late in the first sparked the Royals' offense for the second quarter as they went on a 7-0 run. Freshman Tyler Marie Henry (Virginia Beach, VA) started the quarter off with a mid-range jumper. That was followed by fellow Freshman Kennedy Shipman (Virginia Beach, VA) who grabbed her second rebound and went coast to coast to add to the run with a floater. One possession later, Regent was able to get another stop, and then Williams scored again to trim the lead to 12-11. Salem was able to pull away a bit, ending the quarter with a 28-20 lead, but Shipman was able to keep the Royals in the game, with a total of 7 points in the second quarter.
Williams started off the third quarter with short jumper and then Junior My'Angel Carter (Toccoa, GA) followed that up with a jumper of her own. A few minutes later Telfer connected on her own jumper and then Freshman Eva Giannini (Avon, CT) drained a three pointer from the wing. With three minutes left in the quarter, Telfer grabbed an offensive rebound and went back up strong for two, cutting the deficit to 35-31. Williams would end the quarter the way she started it, with a basket, and the Royals only found themselves trailing 39-35.
In the fourth quarter, Giannini connected again on a three-pointer, and then Williams would do it again with back-to-back driving layups. A few plays later, Williams grabbed her own offensive rebound for a score, and suddenly Regent only trailed by two points. After a few baskets from the Spirits, Williams crashed the boards again for a score and then a free throw from Freshman Amara Groth (Chesapeake, VA) cut the lead to 52-51. After another basket by Salem, Groth drained a three-pointer to tie the game and then a Williams basket gave the Royals their first lead of the game. However, the Spirits were able to eventually retake it, and Regent would fall by a final score of 61-57.
Williams finished with a career high 26 points, shooting 10-14 from the field, and Groth grabbed 11 rebounds. In addition, Tefler added 9 points and 9 rebounds, while Giannini had 11 points, and 5 assists.
The Royals will be back in action tomorrow November 15th when they stay in North Carolina to face Pfeiffer University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00pm.
