Silliman got out to an early 5-2 lead following a Sydney Sones assist to Brittany Taylor halfway into the opening quarter. Sones followed that with a 10 foot jumper at the 3:06 mark to give the Lady Wildcats a 7-4 advantage but Central Private battled back with consecutive baskets from Alex Wicker and Hailey Ussery to take an 8-7 lead with 1:56 left in the quarter. The final 1:56 of the first quarter had four lead changes, the last on two Ussery free throws to give Central Private a 12-11 edge after one quarter of play.
(Above) Sydney Sones (#14) of Silliman converts an easy lay-in
With the score knotted up at 13-13 one minute into the second quarter Holly Castello nailed a jumper from the free throw line to give Silliman a 15-13 lead and one they would not relinquish. A Silliman 7-2 run gave the Lady Wildcats a 22-15 advantage with 2:23 left in the half. Silliman would take a 26-17 lead into halftime following Brittany Taylor’s basket in the paint.
The third quarter produced just five points as Silliman’s defense shut down Centreville to take a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter.
Central Private managed to outscore Silliman 9-8 in the final eight minutes but it wasn’t enough as Silliman took a 39-26 win.
“We’re coming together at the right time,” said Silliman head coach Kaylan Ledet. “We struggled at one point of the season but right now they want it and we’re focused.”
Bradleigh Brignac led Silliman with 11 points, Sydney Sones added 9, Brittany Taylor 7, Holly Castello 6, Kayla Davidson 4 and Samantha Williams had 2.
For Central Private Hailey Ussery had 12 points, Jessie Creel and Sarah Fryoux 5 each and Alex Wicker 4.
CP...12...5....0...9...26
