Culver-Stockton was able to extend their winning streak to 7 straight on Saturday, pulling ahead of Women's Basketball in the final minute of their match-up inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.
The Wildcats overcame a five-point deficit pulling ahead for good with 37 seconds remaining in the game as they earned a 60-55 win over the Ravens.
Culver-Stockton entered play with Benedictine as the top-scoring defense in the Heart, limiting their opponents to just 54 points per game while Benedictine entered the game with the Heart's third-best scoring offense at 74.9 points per game. They also entered the game ranked second in the Heart in steals per game at 15.1. Against Benedictine, they finished with 14 steals and caused 22 turnovers which led to 17 points.
Benedictine led by four after the first quarter of play. Culver-Stockton. Jennifer Jacobs extended Benedictine's lead to six points with the first basket of the second quarter before the Wildcats hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull the game even at 19 points. Benedictine answered with a basket from Aaliyah Raines only to have Culver-Stockton continue to hit from beyond the arc. Three 3-pointers later and Benedictine found themselves trailing five points before the Wildcats took a 30-26 lead into halftime.
Josie Weishaar and Twillah Carrasquillo scored four straight for the Ravens to erase their halftime deficit and from there the lead changed hands twice through a second tie before Kennedy Nicholson scored with 15 seconds remaining in the quarter to give Benedictine a 40-38 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
After an early basket allowed the Wildcats to pull even at 40 points inside the first minute of the fourth quarter, Benedictine built a lead that stood for the next seven minutes of the game. Two more 3-pointers from Culver-Stockton erased Benedictine's lead and pulled the Wildcats back in front with 3:00 on the clock. Nicholson tied the game at 58 with 52 seconds remaining only to have the Wildcats answer with another 3-pointer – their 10th of the game – to take back the lead.
The Wildcats 10 3-pointers matched their second-best output of the season and marked the third time in 11 games they reached double figures. They finished at 50 percent from beyond the arc after averaging 33.3 percent so far this season.
Benedictine held the advantage in points in the paint, outscoring Culver-Stockton 34-18, but that total wasn't enough to counter the Wildcats' hot shooting from beyond the arc. Nicholson finished with 16 points to lead the Ravens in scoring, setting a new career high. Raines added 10 points and was the only other Raven in double figures.
The Ravens finish off their 2022 Heart schedule on the road. They travel to Parkville, Mo., on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. game with Park University before making the trek North to Dubuque, Iowa, to take on No. 6 Clarke University on Dec. 17. They return home for a 5:30 p.m. game on Dec. 30 against William Woods University,
