NEWPORT NEWS, VA. – Junior Danita Whitaker scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds while fellow junior April McCoy added 10 points and six rebounds as the Apprentice School held off a late charge from Washington Adventist for a 61-57 win on Wednesday night in a U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association contest.
Apprentice School held the lead throughout the first half and pushed to lead to 23-11 on a Shanae Hilliard 3-pointer with 9:26 left to end an 18-5 run over a 7:21 span. The Shock charged back and cut the deficit to 27-23 on a Tiffani Wiles layup with 3:15 left. A late flurry by the Lady Builders gave then a 34-25 halftime advantage as Christina Licano drained a 3-pointer to close the first half scoring.
In the second half, the Lady Builders appeared to have the game under control as they took a 14-point lead in an April McCoy jumper with 14:22 left to lead 46-32. With another Licano 3-pointer at the 8:59 mark, Apprentice School held a 51-39 advantage but that appeared to charge the Lady Shock. Washington Adventist soared back into the game on the strength of a 16-3 run over the next 6:12 as a jumper from Briana McClain with 2:47 left gave the guests a 55-54 lead. That was their first lead since 6-5 barely three minutes into the game.
The hosts pulled away from there as a Hilliard jumper started a 7-0 flurry to push them back up 61-55 on a pair of Kenya Wilkerson free throws with 36 seconds left. Vanessa Rice drained a pair of free throws with eight seconds left for the final margin 61-57.
Whitaker topped the Lady Builders in scoring en route to her ninth double-double of the season with her 17 point, 11 rebound outing. McCoy was next with 10 points, while Tysheka Simpson and Hilliard chipped in with nine points each.
Washington Adventist was paced by Jerria Brown-McDaniel with 19 points and Rice with 18. Kia Baker was their leading rebounder with 10.
Apprentice School is now off until February 1 when they travel to Lynchburg, Virginia to tangle with Virginia University of Lynchburg in a 7 pm tip.
