Box Score Front Royal, VA – In a series that dates many years back, the Regent University Women's Basketball Team on Wednesday attempted to do something they have been unable to do in the series, and that was win. While many games have been close, Christendom College has had the advantage over the Royals. However, Coach Donte MInter and his team came into Crusader Gymnasium looking to head back down the mountain with a win.
Freshman Kennedy Shipman (Virginia Beach, VA), showed why she is Regent's leading scorer, as she connected on a three-pointer and added another the old fashion way early in the game. Junior Shardae Williams (Fredericksburg, VA) and Freshman Mikaylah Telfar (Chesapeake, VA) controlled the boards, while Williams was able to find baskets down low to keep the score tied early into the second quarter. The Royals would eventually take their first lead of the game on a three-pointer from Freshman Amara Groth (Chesapeake, VA) with the score at 22-21. That advantage would increase after Junior Zipporah Johnson (Waterford, MI) drove to the basket for a layup and at the half Regent held the lead 24-21.
Shipman and the Royals came out of the locker room with a purpose as they were able to grab their largest lead of the game at 45-33. As the fourth quarter progressed, Christendom began to make a run, but strong rebounding from Williams and Telfar, along with free throws by Johnson, kept Regent out in front. The defense tightened with Freshman Eliza Entzminger (Winterville, NC) coming up with a big steal with 5 minutes remaining in the game. That was followed by two free throws by Groth, which pushed the lead back to 12 points, and she would convert two more on the next possession to keep the momentum going. However, the Crusaders begin to chip away at the deficit but an offensive put back by Telfar pushed the lead back to double digits. Shipman and Groth were able to close things out at the line and for the first time in school history the Royals would defeat Christendom by a final score of 56-48.
Shipman finished with a career high 25 points, while Groth added 8 points. In addition, Telfar dominated the boards grabbing a game high 13 rebounds.
Regent will be back in action on Saturday, January 31st when they host Johnson & Wales University. Tip-off is set for 2:00pm.
