Lady Buccaneers Split Games on Road Trip
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) women's basketball team recently completed a road trip to St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, where they competed in two games. The team achieved a 1-1 record during this road swing before returning home to the Virgin Islands.
In the first game of the trip, the Lady Buccaneers faced off against the St. Thomas University Development team. This game was played under exhibition rules, serving as the Lady Buccaneers' final exhibition before the start of the regular season. The Lady Buccaneers emerged victorious with a wire-to-wire 74-63 win over the Bobcats.
Head coach Stephanie Cooper expressed her excitement about her team's strong shooting performance, while also acknowledging areas for improvement to enhance their overall performance. "We shot well from behind the arc, giving us an advantage, but we need to focus on limiting turnovers and improving our positioning in the painted area to compete effectively against teams with greater size," Cooper stated.
Sophomore guard Ashkamay'ah Phillips delivered an outstanding offensive performance, scoring 30 points in the victory, including 17 points in the second half to secure the win. Senior guard Mya Lewis and senior forward Lameez Khan also contributed significantly, each recording 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The following day, the Lady Buccaneers began their regular season by facing the St. Thomas University Bobcats Varsity team. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers suffered a loss in their official season opener, falling to a 0-1 record after a 95-43 defeat.
Lewis led the team with an impressive 17 points for the Lady Buccaneers.
"We faced a challenging matchup with several inactive players, allowing the veteran St. Thomas team to dominate with their fast-paced game," stated Cooper. Despite being undersized and outnumbered, I am pleased with the effort displayed by our team, particularly by players like Sydney Taylor and Mya Lewis who showed great determination. With key players returning for our next game and considering the team's performance thus far, I am confident that we will have a successful season."
The Lady Buccaneers return to action in the Wilberforce University Pod, where teams from the Historically Black College and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) will compete in cross-divisional pool play (East vs. West) from December 13 to 17 in Wilberforce, Ohio.
