DANVILLE, Va. – Averett University women's basketball faded late to have its two-game win streak halted by visiting Guilford College on Wednesday night, losing 76-57 at the Grant Center.
Guilford raced its away to a quick 5-0 start, before upstart Averett jumped right back in with the Quakers to tie the contest swiftly. Not much did separate the US-29 rivals for the rest of the period however, with the Cougars nearly matching Guilford's pace the entire way. Guilford's Taylor Dunn and Averett's
DaiShaundria Giggetts led their teams in scoring through the heat of the period, with the visitors up by just a field goal, 18-16.
Guilford's lead rose to four with a pair of foul shot makes in the next quarter, but the mighty Cougars rose as they have in recent contests. Forcing multiple Quaker turnovers, along with the home bench turning up, Averett took its first lead of the game at 26-24 with under five minutes until halftime.
Guilford's and the Quakers' offense took drastic turns to close the half, as the Quakers ended it on an 11-2 run to go up by seven, 35-28.
The previous run kept Guilford ahead despite offensive production from the home team's side in the third, the Cougars trailed 19-14 in a back-and-forth period. The last quarter went in favor of the Quakers quick, as they inched further away. Evelyn George scored 11 points in over seven minutes to help nurse a 19-point lead late to snap Averett's win streak.
Giggetts set a new season-high in points with 25, and also tallied four steals and three rebounds.
Lily Strittmatter tied her season-best in assists with five, and
Crishya Sellers accumulated eight points with two blocks.
The Cougars, as they have done often this season, out-stole their opponent, besting Guilford 13-11 in that margin.
Averett next plays Hollins in a rescheduled contest due to predicted inclement weather, on Friday, Jan. 23. Start time is set for 7:30 p.m. after the conclusion of the Cougars' men's basketball contest.
