Washington, DC – A trip to the Nation's Capital was on deck for the Regent University Women's Basketball team on Monday night. It was their final game before the Thanksgiving break, and the Royals were looking to head home on a positive note, prior to spending time with their families. However, they would need an all-round effort from both the upperclassmen and the freshman in order to achieve their goal.
The first quarter started out slow for Regent as they had offensive opportunities but were unable to connect. However, Junior My'Angel Carter (Toccoa, GA) put the Royals on the board with a turnaround jumper and a few plays later she tied the score after converting two from the free throw line. A few plays later Carter found Freshman Mikaylah Telfer (Chesapeake, VA) under the basket for a layup and then after another score by Carter, Freshman Kennedy Shipman (Virginia Beach, VA) and Junior Zipporah Johnson (Waterford, MI) hit back-to-back three-pointers. Telfer would score again after taking a pass from Johnson and as the quarter ended, Regent led 17-6.
Johnson began the second quarter with two free throws and then Freshman Tyler Marie Henry (Virginia Beach, VA) came up with a steal and found Freshman Amara Groth (Chesapeake, VA) for a fast break layup. On the next possession, Freshman Eliza Entzminger (Winterville, NC) drained a three-pointer and then on the defensive end she would come up with a block that turned into a layup by Carter. The Royals kept the pressure up and after an offensive rebound by Junior Shardae Williams (Fredericksburg, VA), she found Carter for a short jumper, followed by a fast break layup sending Regent into halftime leading 31-17.
Carter started the third quarter off with a defensive block and then on the other side of the court she converted a jumper in the paint. A few plays later Williams would pull up for a score, and that was followed by Shipman going coast-to-coast for a layup. Williams began to establish position down low for points, and Johnson was able to drive past the defense to find the basket. After a Williams defensive rebound, Groth drained back-to-back three-pointers, followed by a Telfer layup and at the end of the quarter the Royals held the advantage 55-22.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Russell (Fredericksburg, VA) forced a turnover to start the fourth quarter and then Freshman Mia Whitehurst (Nashville, TN) came off the bench to score her first career collegiate points. A few possessions later, Johnson found Shipman cutting to the basket for an old-fashioned three-point play, and then Whitehurst added to her career high with a fast break layup. Shipman increased the advantage with a three-pointer from the top of the key, while Groth drained one as well and as the final buzzer sounded Regent would earn the win by a final score of 71-34.
Carter finished the game with a double-double scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while Groth had 15 points. In addition, Shipman added 14 points, and Telfer recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
