by OGDEN – A scrappy Wildcat squad defeated the Utah Tech Trailblazers 82-76 this Saturday afternoon.
Utah Tech led in the opening frame, 11-4, until a Lane Billy 3-pointer cut the deficit to four. A layup by the Trailblazers kept them I the lead, but a 6-0 run for the Wildcats tied the game 13-13 at the buzzer. Utah Tech came out hot to start the second quarter, with 10 straight points. Makenna Shaffer-Lauer and Billy both made good 3-pointers to trail at 31-27; however, the Trailblazers kept a strong lead to close the half 36-31. Throughout the first half, the Wildcats were shooting 35.3 percent (12-34) from the field and 30 percent from the arc (3-10).
Returning from the break, a tough Wildcat squad closed out the quarter trailing by just five points at 55-50. It was all Weber State in the final quarter of gameplay as the ‘Cats started with a strong 10-0 run, giving them the advantage in the game at 64-61. The squad didn’t stop there as Billy put up a jumper and 3-pointer along with an Antoniette Emma-Nnopu layup to increase the team’s lead by eight. Weber State recorded nine good free throws with just a minute and a half to go, helping lead them to an 82-76 victory.
We needed that,” said Head Coach Jenteal Jackson. “This group is on the brink of a lot of greatness, it’s just that some things take a little time, but I’m really glad that we found it.”
“It probably took us about 32 minutes, so a little longer than I would have liked, but we got there and we found a way. We tried a lot of different lineups, and that last group really was getting it done, so we stuck with them for a long stretch at the end there, and we were able to pull out the win,” said Jackson.
Wildcat Stats
- Making a comeback in the fourth quarter, Weber State scored 32 points, shooting 90.9 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the arc.
- Total, Weber State shot 48.3 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from the arc compared to their opponents’ 39.4 percent and 21.4 percent.
- Antoniette Emma-Nnopu recorded her second double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds. She also tacked on eight assists.
- Lanae Billy recorded a career-high 23 points with four good 3-pointers.
