Chambers' 25 not enough, Bishops fall to Cougars 74-61

Danville, VA - Senior Essence Chambers (pictured) turned in a game-high 25 points, six steals, and four assists on Thursday night at Averett University, but it was not enough as the Battling Bishops fell to the Cougars by a 74-61 score in Danville. Wesleyan forced a 29-29 tie at the half only to see AU shoot an impressive 58 percent from the floor in the final period to pull away. The loss drops the Bishops to 4-11 on the season, 2-5 in USA South play. Averett improves to 10-7 overall with the victory, 6-4 in league action.

Tied 29-29 at the break, the Bishops hung close over the first 12 minutes of the second half as the two teams traded bucket after bucket.  A Chambers jumper at the 8:28 mark made the score 45-42 in favor of the Cougars.

Averett then got back-to-back threes by AU's Kristyn Wharton and Kaneshia Slade to open up a nine-point advantage, and the Cougars went on to lead by as many as 14 with 3:53 remaining.  The consecutive treys seemed to give AU the momentum it needed to pull away for the victory.

T'Keya Holloway and Gretchen Tobias joined Chambers in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Holloway completed the double-double with 10 rebounds.

For Averett, Ashley Washington had 25 points and 16 rebounds, while Wharton and Slade combined for 23 points and 21 boards. The Cougars, in fact, out-rebounded the Bishops 53-27 on the night and converted 22 second chance points.

Wesleyan looks to bounce back on Saturday when the Battling Bishops travel to Mary Baldwin College. Game time is slated for 2:00 p.m. in Staunton, VA.