A new career-high 31 points by freshman guard Ashukamayah Phillips propelled the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) women’s basketball team to a dominant 77-57 win over the Lady Bulldogs of Tougaloo College to close out the regular season at the Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center Saturday afternoon. The Lady Buccaneers were able to avenge their 76-48 loss in the previous match-up on the road in Tougaloo, Mississippi.
On a night when a celebration of the senior players took place, graduate guard Brea Patterson was the lone player honored for Senior Day prior to the tip-off for her time as a part of the UVI Lady Bucs basketball team. Patterson would make her presence felt in what would be the last home game of her career. The 5-6 guard from Mesa, Arizona recorded 15 points, seven assists, and four rebounds in her final game at the Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
UVI (3-17, 3-13) asserted their dominance early and often in this match-up with the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Buccaneers jumped out to an 18-8 lead and never looked back. Their largest lead of the contest came at the 2:40 mark in the fourth quarter where they led Tougaloo by 22 points. UVI controlled the pace of the game and came out with the wire-to-wire victory as they never trailed in the game.
The Lady Buccaneer’s success was attributed to one of their best showings offensively
this season. The Lady Bucs shot an astounding 44.1% from the field and 50% from three-point
territory.
Phillips’s second-half eruption boosted the Lady Buccaneer’s offensive output as she
scored 20 of her 31 points in the last two periods. The 5-7 guard from St. Thomas,
Virgin Islands shot an efficient 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-9 from behind the
arc in the second half.
Defensively, UVI was active, forcing 22 turnovers and scoring 25 points off those
turnovers while holding Touogaloo to just 27.4% shooting from the field and only 13%
from three-point territory. The Lady Buccaneers also outrebounded the Lady Bulldogs
significantly (51-30).
Mia Davis recorded her second consecutive double-double after securing a season-high
16 rebounds and scoring 11 points before leaving the game midway through the fourth
quarter due to injury.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Sharisse Bridges had 17 points.
Up next, the Lady Buccaneers will head to the GCAC 2024 Hope Credit Union Men's and Women's Basketball Championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The tournament will be held from February 28 to March 3. Tournament
seedings are to be determined.
About UVI Athletics
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and, as of July 1, 2023, competes in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC). Entering the 2023-24 season, the Buccaneers will begin their 17th season of athletic competition. As the only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Caribbean, UVI currently sponsors six sports, including men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. For more information on UVI Athletics, visit UVIAthletics.com.