DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Senior forward
Paulina Afriyie led North Carolina Central University with 17 points to surpass the 1,000 career point total in a 73-52 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) road loss at Bethune-Cookman University Saturday afternoon.
Afriyie swished a pair of free throws with exactly three minutes remaining in the third quarter to reach the milestone. She becomes the fourth Eagle to reach 1,000 points in NCCU's NCAA Division I era, joining Chasidy Williams (1,296 points from 2008-13), Jori Nwachukwu (1,093 points from 2007-11) and
Morgan Jones (1,047 points from 2003-17). Afriyie has 1,004 career points with 12 regular season games left in her senior season.
The Wildcats, who are the defending MEAC Tournament champions, won their fourth consecutive game by making 17 steals. Bethune-Cookman (12-5 Overall, 4-1 MEAC) turned NCCU's 22 total turnovers into 26 extra points.
Freshman forward
Anissa Rivera was the only other Eagle to score in double digits, scoring 13 points. Afriyie and Rivera accounted for over half of NCCU's offensive production.
NCCU held its only lead of the contest, 4-0, by scoring the first two hoops of the game on a layup by sophomore
Dasmine Kasey and a jumper by junior
Zaria Atkins. BCU quickly pulled ahead 12-6 before a couple hoops by Afriyie helped the Eagles level the score one last time at 12-all. However, the Wildcats scored the final six points of the opening quarter to lead for the rest of the contest.
Bethune-Cookman used a 19-0 run in the second quarter to take control of the game with construct its largest lead of 26 points at 40-14. NCCU was able to trim that deficit to 16 points at halftime, 40-24, by scoring the final 10 points of the half. That rally featured a pair of baskets by sophomore
Kiyana Brown and was capped on a 3-pointer by Rivera.
The Wildcats held a double-digit lead throughout the second half.
Atkins chipped in six points and four assists.
Junior Amaya Scott and sophomore Ciara Thompson paced the victors with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Scott also accounted for five of BCU's 17 steals.
NC Central (4-13, 1-3) will conclude it four-game MEAC road swing at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, on Monday at 2 p.m.
