WATERBURY, Conn. – It was a close game in the first half of today's competition before an Eagle dominant second half scoring spree led to an 89-69 victory for the Eagles. Previously against the Wildcats, Post is on a five-game win streak, while being on top overall against Wilmington, 17-7 since January of 2000.

THE BASICS

Post University 89, Wilmington University 69

Post University (14-7, 9-2 CACC)
 
Wilmington University (1-21, 0-12 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED 
The first quarter started off scoreless besides four from the charity stripe off the hands of the Eagles to take the 4-0 edge with 8:10 on the clock. The visitors were able to get a basket on the board before Tijanae Simmons net one from downtown from a fastbreak thanks to a beautiful set up from Dede Stevenson. The Graduate Student stayed hot as she then hit a three of her own at the 5:59 mark before rattling off two more in a row from behind the arc to give her squad a double-digit lead (11), bringing the score to 16-5. Post held tight to their advantage, ending the first quarter, 22-15.
 
Wilmington was able to come within five in the opening minutes of the second frame before a Simmons three followed by another layup from Tiana Pagan to regain the 10-point edge. The Wildcats started to chip away hitting back-to-back threes broken up by a jumper before sealing their run with a pair of three-pointers to take their first lead of the game, 31-29 with 6:17 to go. However, Trinity Bravo quickly knotted it up again at 31 before Maya Klein did what she does best and added another three to her stat sheet (34-31). The Eagles were able to hold their advantage until 2:33 left when a Wildcat three tied it up at 38 but Eagle Jayden Burns sunk one from behind the arc to keep her squad in the lead before heading into the second half, 46-40.
 
At the conclusion of the half, both squads were at an even 45.7 field goals percentage going 16-for-35 despite the score, meanwhile, the Eagles are two-up on the Wildcats when it comes to threes, going 8-for-16 to make a 50 percent success rate from behind the arc.
 
The Eagles immediately extended their lead to nine just over two minutes into the third quarter but Wilmington was able to battle back, going on an eight-point run to come within a point (51-52) at the 5:54 mark. However, two free throws from Stevenson catalyzed an Eagle offensive comeback as they went on to grab their biggest lead of the game (14) topped off by a Klein three (65-51) before entering the final frame, 68-55.
 
In the last 10, Simmons kept the Eagles hot with one from behind the arc before Klein followed up with one of her own to bring the score to 74-57 just under a minute into the fourth. The Eagles continued to fire offensively, taking their largest advantage during the fifth minute with a 19-point edge after a free throw from Naj White which she later added another pair from the charity stripe with 1:43 to go in regulation to give the Eagles a 20-point lead. Post was able to hold on to their massive surplus for the remaining time, sealing the eventual 89-69 CACC victory.

BY THE NUMBERS   

• After 12 points and 10 rebounds in today's game, Trinity Bravo has a two-game streak going recording a double-double
• Dede Stevenson led the Eagles this afternoon with 16 points, going 3-for-5 from the three-point line after a perfect first period from downtown
• Since the 2021-22 season, the Eagles have bested the Wildcats by 20 or more points
• With today's conference win, Post Women's Basketball has officially clinched a spot in the CACC Post-Season Tournament

WHO'S NEXT 
Post University hits the road again for a midweek match-up against Bloomfield College for a Valentine's day battle on Wednesday, February 14 with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. The Eagles currently have a eight-game win streak against the Bears and have not lost since 2019 when they were at the home of the Bears.