Gophers Prevent Wolverines from Notching First Victory

DOVER, Del. — Goucher held Wesley to seven points over the final 13:55 this evening and earned a 49-45 victory over the Wolverines, who are still looking for their first win of the 2013-14 campaign.

After two free throws by Brionna Johnson provided Wesley with a 38-27 lead over head coach Didi Cotton's squad nearly six minutes into the second half, the Wolverines (0-7) went 3-for-19 from the field and missed seven of their eight free-throw attempts the rest of the way. They also committed six turnovers during that stretch.

The Gophers (5-6), who were playing their final non-conference opponent of the season, needed exactly five minutes to erase their 11-point deficit as two free throws by Olivia Nono (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) with 8:55 left to play created a 38-38 tie.

Wesley regained a four-point lead thanks to a pair of baskets by Johnson, but Goucher went ahead to stay on a layup by Amaka Ezeani (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) that made the score 44-42 in favor of the Gophers with 6:03 showing on the clock.

Even though the Gophers led by as many as eight points in the first half, a 3-point field goal by Nicole Evanko with :36 remaining snapped a 25-all tie and provided the Wolverines with a 28-25 lead after 20 minutes. Wesley was only 10-for-31 from the field (.323) in the opening period, but still managed to score 18 points off of the 17 turnovers Goucher committed.

Nono led all scorers as she accomplished the first 20-point performance of her career. The sophomore forward was 7-for-8 from the field and made six of her nine tries at the free-throw stripe. Ezeani contributed eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots to the victory.

Roniece Williams finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 boards for Wesley.

The Gophers will have nine days to prepare for their next game, which will be a Landmark Conference contest against Moravian on January 11.