Virginia Beach, VA – On Saturday night, the Regent University Women's Basketball team stayed close to home as they took the short trip down I-64 to face Virginia Wesleyan University. After a hard-fought home opener the night before, the Royals were facing a team they were familiar with, and tonight's game featured two teams who have strengthened their rosters. It also was another opportunity for Regent to play in front of their fans even though it was an away game.
Freshman Eva Giannini (Avon, CT) started the first quarter with a three-pointer from the top of the key and on the defensive end Freshman Amara Groth (Chesapeake, VA) came up with a steal under the basket. Giannini would do it again with a driving layup, and then the defense came up with another stop and turnover, which allowed Giannini to drain another three-pointer. However, as the quarter ended, the Royals would trail 22-10. The second quarter saw Freshman Mikaylah Telfer (Chesapeake, VA) dominate the defensive boards, as Junior My'Angel Carter (Toccoa, GA) forced a drive to come up a with a big block. After being fouled on a three-point attempt, Freshman Kennedy Shipman (Virginia Beach, VA) converted two free throws to trim the deficit, but as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime, Regent would trail 28-13.
Carter took a pass from Giannini down low for a basket to start the third quarter and then Telfer continued to grab defensive rebounds. A few plays later, Shipman found Groth for a three-pointer from the wing and on the next possession Telfer, once again, crashed the boards and took it back up for a score. After a miss, Groth would grab the rebound and find a cutting Giannini under the basket for another score but as the quarter ended the Royals still found themselves behind 53-26. Telfer found her way to the free throw line to begin the fourth quarter and then Shipman would do the same on the next possession. Giannini continued to connect on three-pointers but as the final buzzer sounded, Regent would fall by a final score of 69-31.
Giannini finished with 16 points, while Freshman Eliza Entzminger (Winterville, NC) grabbed 8 total rebounds. In addition, Groth led the team with 3 steals.
The Royals will be back in action on Monday, November 24th when they travel to the Nation's Capital to face Trinity Washington University. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm.
