CHESTER, Pa. – Senior nights tend to be special events for the honorees. For the Widener University women's basketball team, it was a junior who stole the show this time around.
Nicole Barnes posted a career-high 21 points to lead the Pride to a 71-52 win against the Arcadia Knights, wrapping the regular season on Friday night.
BY THE NUMBERS
- In addition to her point total, Barnes tied a career-high with eight steals, matched her season-best with seven rebounds, and added five assists against zero turnovers.
- Kyra Schenk posted her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, adding three blocks.
- Gianna Samuels knocked down a trio of treys for nine points.
- Jasmine Franklin and Helena Salmon provided a spark off the bench, tallying eight and five respectively.
- The Pride committed 14 turnovers in the game, its second lowest total of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Still feeling the sting from the previous evening, Widener started slow as Arcadia jumped out to an 8-0 lead midway through the first period. Barnes got the Blue and Gold on the board with a three-pointer, kick-starting the offense to a 10-2 run, knotting the contest at 10-10 just two minutes later. The offense continued to wake up as the period progressed as the Pride took a 18-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
WU started to extend the edge in the second as a trey by Samuels made it 26-20 at the 7:23 mark. The Knights clawed their way back in, slicing the lead to 31-30 before a steal and score by Barnes with 12 seconds left gave Widener a three-point lead at intermission. Both teams scored seemingly at will in the third as a 19-19 deadlock in the stanza made it 52-49 heading into the final quarter.
In a reversal from the previous night, Widener took charge in the fourth. The Pride outscored the Knights 19-3 in the period, shooting 8-for-16 from the floor while not allowing Arcadia a bucket in 11 tries. Schenk asserted her way, scoring four points, pulling in five rebounds, and blocking two shots in the quarter.
UP NEXT
Widener awaits the announcement of the MAC Commonwealth Championship participants on Monday.