W&J Completes Bahamas Sweep With Lopsided Victory Over Goucher
NASSAU, Bahamas – The Washington & Jefferson women’s basketball team earned its second victory in as many days with a dominant 65-34 win against Goucher (Md.) Tuesday at the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout in Nassau.
After downing Immaculata on Monday, W&J (5-5) played stifling defense, holding the Gophers (1-8) to just 23 percent shooting (12-52), while forcing 25 turnovers.
Senior forward Ashley Kirkpatrick (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) led the team offensively with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds. After the game, she was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Trailing 6-4 during the early going, the Presidents used a 21-4 run spanning 7:35 to open up a 21-point lead. Senior guard Emily Abraham (Canfield, Ohio/Boardman) started the spurt with a steal and breakaway layup to tie the game. Abraham made all three of her field goal attempts during the surge, while Kirkpatrick contributed 10 points.
W&J held the Gophers to just 6-of-30 shooting during the first stanza on its way to a commanding 34-18 halftime advantage.
The Presidents continued to pour it on in the second half. Abraham sank a three-pointer following an old-fashioned three-point play by Kirkpatrick to give W&J a 25-point lead with 13:53 remaining. Sophomore guard Alexa Burzese (Morgantown, W. Va./University) drilled back-to-back three-pointers to push the Presidents to their largest lead at 33 points late in the second half.
Abraham contributed nine points and five rebounds, while senior point guard Vanessa Rivera (Reading, Pa./Wilson) tied her season-high by dishing out nine assists. Rivera was also selected to the All-Tournament Team. Senior guard Kayla Strimel (Morgantown, W. Va./University) added eight points and eight boards.
W&J shot 46 percent (27-59) from the field and used a 51-29 advantage on the boards despite turning the ball over 27 times. All 11 Presidents who saw action scored at least one point.
A total of 10 different Gophers got into the scoring column, but TaQuasia Lambert was the leader with only six.
The Presidents will try to extend their winning streak to three games when they travel to La Roche for a New Year’s Eve contest at 1:00 pm in Pittsburgh.
