Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College senior Nyeshea Willie achieved a significant career milestone on Saturday and junior Cassandra Brown added the best game of her career, but neither was enough to help the Lady Bulldogs avoid a 64-61 home setback to Chowan University in Wilson Gym.
Willie, the reigning Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, surpassed 1,500 points for her outstanding career on a layup with 5:54 to go, two of 15 points the 5-8 guard from Virginia Beach, Va., would score in the game's final six minutes and two of the 22 points she would pour in during the second half.
She scored the last of her 27 points in the game on a 3-pointer with 49 seconds to play, cutting Chowan's lead to a single point at 62-61. However, the Hawks' Courtni Williams drew a foul call driving to the basket with 22 seconds remaining, and converted both attempts to put Chowan back up by three. Willie worked free for a shot at the buzzer, but the attempt rimmed off.
The loss dropped Barton to 2-4 on the year, while Chowan improved to 4-2 after defeating the Lady Bulldogs for the second time this season.
The Hawks were led by forward Alisha Mobley, who produced a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds while also collecting three blocks. Summer Curtis also recorded a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Janelle Murphy chipped in 11 points for the winners.
In addition to Willie's 27 points, the Lady Bulldogs also received 12 points and nine rebounds from Brown, both career highs. Kaila Lea contributed eight points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Willie also chipped in five steals.
In order to give Willie a game-tying shot at the buzzer, Barton first had to overcome significant deficits in both halves. After Brown scored the first points of the game for the Lady Bulldogs, the Hawks rolled off 11 unanswered to take a quick nine-point lead less than five minutes into the contest.
Barton erased that margin by beating Chowan's press attempts, and briefly took a two-point lead on two occasions late in the first half, the last on a layup by Shadawn Clayton with a minute remaining that put the Lady Bulldogs up 27-25.
The Hawks scored the final four points of the first period to take a 29-27 lead into the locker, and Chowan still led by the same margin seven minutes into the second half when Curtis made three straight layups, two on offensive rebounds, to help the Hawks begin to pull away.
Curtis added yet another basket, her fourth in a span of just over two minutes, to push the Chowan lead into double-digits for the first time at 51-40 with 9:04 to go. The Hawks' advantage eventually reached 13 points on three occasions, the last time on a free throw by RyJae Anderson with 4:44 to play.
At that point, Barton turned up its full-court press, and the Hawks turned the ball over on three straight possessions. The Lady Bulldogs converted all of those miscues into points, cutting the deficit nearly in half. A missed layup by Williams gave Barton the ball once more, and Brianna Thomas sank her only 3-point attempt of the game for the Lady Bulldogs to slice the Chowan lead down to just four at 58-54 with 2:48 remaining.
The teams traded points twice, leaving the margin at four, 62-58, following a Willie jumper with 1:37 left. A Chowan turnover gave Barton possession once more, and a Tiffany Webster offensive rebound gave Willie a 3-point look, which she drained to pull the Lady Bulldogs within one at 62-61 inside the final minute.
Chowan worked the shot clock down to six seconds before Williams drove to the basket, getting a foul call. Williams, who was 6-of-7 from the line on the night, made both, putting the Hawks up 64-61 and forcing Barton to take a 3-pointer. Willie managed to get an open look from the left wing, but the ball rolled off.
Barton was able to score 20 points off the fast break to just eight for the Hawks, but Chowan dominated play inside, scoring 26 points on second-chance buckets, compared to just five for the Lady Bulldogs. Chowan also enjoyed a 24-4 edge in scoring off the bench.
The Lady Bulldogs will attempt to get back into the win column on Tuesday when they host another team from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, St. Augustine's University. Tip-time is set for 5:30 p.m. in Wilson Gym.
