The Weber State University women’s basketball team’s 2017–18 season came to a disappointing end against the University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bears, 82–67 in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
The Wildcats came out shooting and grabbed a quick 8–7 lead over the Sugar Bears, but Central Arkansas answered with a 20–6 run that gave them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish through the rest of the game.
The Sugar Bears continued to pull away in the second quarter, keeping the Wildcats scoreless through the first five minutes and taking a commanding 46–24 lead into the half.
Weber State started the second half on a 12–4 run, but it was fruitless. The Sugar Bears maintained their lead and held on for an 82–67 victory.
Central Arkansas used its height advantage, getting most of their points from inside the paint while their second-best in the country in scoring defense held the Wildcats to only 33 percent shooting from the field.
In Larryn Brooks’ final game as a Wildcat, she led the team with 16 points while fellow senior Kailie Quinn scored 15 points and junior Emily Drake collected 14 points of her own. Junior Jaiamoni Welch-Coleman was the only other Wildcat to achieve double-digit scoring with 11 points.
Seniors Briana Gray and Jocelyn Adams each had six rebounds in their final games. Gray added four of her own points and Adams added two blocks.
The ’Cats dished out seven total assists, with Welch-Coleman and Brooks tying for the team lead with two assists apiece. Weber State had one fewer assist in the game as a team than Central Arkansas sophomore guard Taylor Sells did on her own.
While the team is saying goodbye for good to four seniors, the team plans on returning a majority of their roster. They will be relying next season on Drake, Welch-Coleman, and the rest of the WSU underclassmen.
Weber State ended the season with a 21–11 record, eight more wins than last season and their most in a season since the 2015–16 season when they won 23 games. They also ended that season with a WBI loss, although the defeat at the hand of the Sugar Bears was in the quarterfinals.
