SALEM, W. Va. (Nov. 21, 2017) — Four consecutive defensive stops in the third quarter halted a brief Wilberforce University comeback to propel the Salem University Tigers women's basketball team to a 70-60 victory over the Bulldogs. 

With a 13-point halftime lead cut to five near the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs' Tivia Hylton cleared a defensive rebound and worked her way up the court. 

Lurking from behind, Tigers' forward Isis Mance stalked her prey, pouncing on a lazy pass near mid-court for the steal. 

Salem University forward Isis Mance stepped in front of an outlet pass near mid-court for the steal. Working her way against two defenders in the open court, Mance shook the first line of defense with a crossover that flowed into a graceful spin move past the second defender, hitting the fallaway jumper over the top for a 48-41 lead. 

Back on defense, Salem's Jillian Moore timed Alexandra Shealey's spin move perfectly, knocking the ball loose for another turnover leading to a Keishla Gilmore layup. 

After the Bulldogs turned the ball over once more on an errant entry pass into the post, Wilberforce's Brittany Wells corralled a long rebound and raced down the court at full tilt. Sprinting side-by-side with Wells, Aaliyah Dotson forced her to slow down for a side step, buying Gilmore enough time to step in front and draw an offensive foul—which garnered a technical from Bulldogs coach Derek Williams. 

Dotson connected on both free throws, capping off a 6-0 run to buy Salem University some breathing room before a Wilberforce fast break layup and last second 3-pointer cut the Tigers' lead to 52-46 heading into the fourth quarter. 

Salem pulled away with a 7-0 run to start the fourth, getting a pair of free throws from Dotson, a 3-pointer from Romero off an offensive rebound from Quamilla Jackson, and a layup by Mance off a beautiful dish from Gilmore to put the game out of reach. 

Dotson led the Tigers with 25 points, attacking the seams of the defense with powerful drives through a thicket of long arms, finishing 6-for-10 inside the paint and 3-for-10 from behind the 3-point line, and drawing fouls to finished 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. 

Mance finished just shy of a double-double, posting 16 points and nine rebounds, using her soft touch for pick-and-pop jumpers and strong frame and nimble footwork to create space inside against a long Bulldog front court. She also contributed a team-high four steals, leading the break and dishing two assists. 

Gilmore was everywhere on the court with a mesmerizing rhythm to her dribble, transitioning from a high hesitation bound into a snake bite quick attack or one-two crossover to get into the middle of the floor to finish with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. 

Undeterred by the Bulldogs' 6'4" center, Angelice Kinney—who finished with four of Wilberforce's eight blocks—the Tigers outscored their opponent 40-28 in points in the paint and a 19-8 edge in points off turnovers. 

With the win, the Tigers improve to 2-3 on the season with the next game on the road against Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.