WISE - - Prior to Saturday, a women's basketball player at UVa-Wise had never recorded a triple-double since the institution moved to NCAA Division II. Due to senior point guard Adalmaryz Rivera – Gomez, that statement is no longer true. The Bayamon, Puerto Rico native scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists to lead the Cavaliers to an 81-61 victory over Wheeling Jesuit University at the McDonough Center.
UVa-Wise (7-9, 5-5 MEC) took a 56-38 lead to the fourth quarter behind a complete team effort. Mackenzie King (13), Kalee Johnson (11) and Ada Stanley (10) had all already entered double figure scoring through the game's first 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Gomez had a stat line of four points, seven rebounds and seven assists after three quarters of action.
In the final stanza, Wheeling Jesuit (3-13, 1-9 MEC) fell behind by 21 points with 6:28 to play following a 3-pointer by Gomez. From that point on, the triple-double watch was on. The senior would score her team's next three points to reach double figure scoring, needing three rebounds and two assists to make history.
Less than a minute later, Gomez assisted on a Johnson 3-pointer before grabbing her ninth rebound of the afternoon on the defensive end. Moments later, she secured her ninth rebound of the game which prompted Head Coach Jamie Cluesman to call timeout to inform the team of the situation.
With a 76-53 lead and just three minutes to play, the attention of every Cavalier turned to helping Gomez accomplish the feat.
With 1:17 to play, Gomez would dive for a rebound, throwing it off a Cardinal for her 10th rebound of the contest. Moments later, the guard made a nifty pass to fellow senior Alle Moore only to see Moore fouled hard, preventing a bucket.
It appeared as if it would be Gomez's final opportunity but she and her teammates would be given one final chance when UVa-Wise inbounded the ball with 16 seconds to play.
Gomez received the inbounds pass and raced to the other end of the floor where she passed the ball to Johnson inside, Johnson would make a bucket through contact to complete the triple-double. Ironically, the basket capped a career-game for Johnson as well, the redshirt sophomore finished with a career-high 16 points eclipsing her previous high of 14.
As the final horn sounded, the Cavs rushed to meet Gomez at mid-court lifting her in celebration. The triple-double is just the 17th across all of NCAA Division II to this point of the season and the fourth turned in by a player in the Mountain East Conference.
King and Stanley did not score in the fourth quarter to finish with 13 points and 10 points respectively as part of a quartet of Cavs to reach double figures in the triumph.
UVa-Wise made 10-of-19 3-point attempts while enjoying a 50-to-33 margin on the boards. Cynita Webb led all players with 11 rebounds as the Cav reached double digit rebounds for the fourth consecutive game.
Wheeling Jesuit was led by Chenelle Moore's game-high 22 points, she was the only Cardinal to score 10 or more points.
Cluesman's team will continue its four-game road trip at West Virginia State Wednesday, tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
