CINCINNATI — Junior Ashley Wanninger led the way with 14 points and redshirt-sophomore Lakeisha Crouchearned a double-double as the Xavier women’s basketball team defeated UNCW 62-52 Tuesday night at Cintas Center.
Xavier improved to 5-5 on the season while UNCW fell to 1-7 on the year.
Wanninger’s 14 points came off of a 4-of-12 performance from the field including three 3-pointers and a 3-of-4 mark from the free-throw line. Crouch earned her second straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Jessica Pachko posted 12 points seven boards in the win. Xavier won the rebounding battle 53-34 and forced UNCW into eight turnovers on the night.
UNCW was led by Dana Brown with 11 points on 4-of-7 from the field while Kelva Atkins added 10 points.
Xavier opened the second half the same way they ended the first. Pachko opened the Musketeer scoring in the second period with a layup at the 19:40 mark and was followed by Crouch with a basket at the 18:56 mark.
Wanninger put XU up 44-28 with 15:02 left in the game with the second of a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers. Wanninger would finish the game with 14 points, just a point shy of her career-high of 15.
Wanninger extended the Musketeer lead to 20 (60-40) with a free throw at the 3:35 mark in the second period.
The Musketeers led 30-16 at the half thanks to an early run. Pachko led the Musketeers with six first half points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line. The XU guards led the way in rebounding in the first period with Jenna Crittendon posting five boards and Shatyra Hawkes pulling down four.
Xavier outscored UNCW 14-6 in the opening eight minutes of the game with Wanninger posting five points during the opening run.
The Musketeer defense was solid as Xavier forced seven Seahawk turnovers while committing only one foul during the first half. The XU defense was especially solid during the last five minutes of the first frame as it held UNCW to just two field goals in the final 4:37 of the first period.
Xavier travels to face Indiana Friday, December 22 at 1 p.m. from Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. Gametracker and live audio will be available at GoXavier.com.
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