ELKINS, W. Va. – Urbana's
Tyra James recorded her third straight 30-point outing as the Blue Knights defeated Davis & Elkins 84-77 Wednesday night inside the McDonnell Center.
Urbana improved to 13-8 overall and 9-6 in conference play following the win. The Blue Knights snapped a two-game slide and avenged an earlier loss to Davis & Elkins. The Senators dropped to 6-15 (5-10 MEC).
The victory marks a new single-season high win total for head coach
Andrea McCloskey at Urbana.
James led the way with 34 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for her 12th double-double. It was her fifth 30-point game this season as her scoring average bumped up to 24.5 points per contest. The Cincinnati native is averaging 31.0 points per game in the past five outings.
Four others reached double figures in the scoring column, including
Sylvia Hudson with 12 points and 10 boards for her 34th career double-double. Hudson picked up her fourth foul early in the third quarter and was forced to sit, but she came up with a pair of big shots when she re-entered the game in the fourth.
Additionally,
Weston Minnich and
Kami McEldowney chipped in with 10 points, each.
Bailey Draughn scored seven points and grabbed six boards.
Urbana trailed 60-54 entering the fourth quarter but wasn't fazed by the deficit which came after the Blue Knights had led majority of the first half.
The teams entered halftime tied up at 40-40, but Davis & Elkins built its third-quarter lead by holding Urbana scoreless for nearly half the period after Hudson was forced to sit with four fouls.
Facing its largest deficit of the game, Urbana didn't' blink. The Blue Knights rattled off a 13-4 run to start the fourth quarter with James and Hudson combing for 11 of those points.
Davis & Elkins tied the game at 71-71 after an offensive putback with 3:30 remaining.
The shot of the game came on the following possession as Minnich drained a clutch 3-pointer from the right wing. That ignited a quick 7-0 run as the Blue Knights led the rest of the way.
Urbana shot 67 percent in the fourth quarter on 12-of-18 shooting. The Blue Knights shot 46 percent overall from the field while the host Senators recorded an overall 44 percent team shooting percentage.
The Blue Knights registered a season-low eight turnovers and outscored the Senators 48-28 on points in the paint.
Rachel Bolyard led Davis & Elkins with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Jamiyah Johnson logged a double-double with 14 points and 20 rebounds.
UP NEXT: Urbana returns home Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff against West Virginia Wesleyan. The Bobcats (3-18, 1-14 MEC) have lost 16 straight and are coming off a 42-point loss to Notre Dame College on Wednesday.
