Rock Hill, SC - The Johnson & Wales Charlotte women's basketball team failed to advance in the Eastern Metro Athletic Conference tournament after falling to Clinton College in the semi-finals 71-61.

How It Happened:

• Clinton scored the first six points of the game en route to leading 25-12 after one quarter.
• The Golden Bears extended their lead to 17 early in the second and maintained a comfortable margin for the rest of the half, leading 41-27 at the break.
• JWU opened the third quarter on a 6-2 run to trim their deficit to 43-33 and then when Jordan Durant hit a three pointer with 6:02 left, the Wildcats were within single digits for the first time in a while, trailing 43-36.
• Clinton immediately reeled off an 8-0 run to restore their 15 point advantage, but the Wildcats again got within seven as the third quarter ended.
• JWU cut the lead to five in the first minute of the fourth, but missed several good opportunities to cut into the deficit more over the next few minutes. 
• A Mariana Ballard layup with 5:15 left made the score 60-57, but Clinton repsonded with 5 straight points over the next 35 seconds.
• Clinton held on from there, winning 71-61.

Key Stats:

• Stats were not available at press time.
• JWU drops to 18-4 overall while Clinton improves to 17-2 overall.

Up Next:

The Wildcats earned a bid to the USCAA National Championships as the #1 seed. They will play the winner of the first round game between #9 Five Town College and #8 Penn State-Beaver on Tuesday, March 8th at Virginia State University in Petersburg, VA. Game time is TBD.