The 2008-09 season got off to an exciting start for the Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (0-1) as the team took a 62-59 loss to the Elon Phoenix (1-0) on the opening day of the Ises Cancer Awareness Tip-Off. The Lady Rams battled for all 40 minutes of the game, but came up short in their first action of season.
The Lady Rams were efficient at both ends of the court, shooting 35.7% from the field and holding the Phoenix to shooting 31.8% from the field on their home court. The two teams ended the night tied in turnovers as well with 27 miscues each in the game. WSSU sophomore guard Nikki Kee led the way for the Lady Rams with 16 points on a 3-for-4 effort from the three-point line in the loss. Fellow sophomore Vontisha Woods added a double-double 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss as well.
The Lady Rams got off to a strong start to the game with a strong defensive effort powering the squad to an early 11-2 lead. WSSU held the Phoenix to just one field goal in the first five minutes of the game and forced six missed Phoenix shots. Kee took advantage of the run early, scoring the first seven points of the game with a three-pointer and back-to-back lay-ups to in the first 90 seconds of the game. The Lady Rams would continue the push through the first media timeout of the game with an 11-2 lead through the 15:54 mark. As expected, the home team would make a push of their own, cutting the WSSU lead down to five points, 15-10 with just under 14 minutes left in the half, but the Lady Rams would not let up as Kee’s second three-pointer of the night capped a 5-2 WSSU run that left the Lady Rams ahead, 20-12 with 11:16 left in the half.
The game would turn into a defensive battle with both teams struggling to find points, but the Lady Rams would remain in control of the contest, 22-13, with just over seven minutes left in the first half. The Lady Rams would keep up the defensive effort holding Elon to just one field goal over the next three minutes and building a 25-15 lead on a Woods lay-up and free throw. Woods would hit a jumper with just over three minutes left to give the Lady Rams their biggest lead of the half, 27-15. The home did would strike back once again, however, scoring on back-to-back trips to cut the WSSU lead down to seven points, 27-20.
The final stretch of the half saw the Lady Rams fighting to hold on to their lead as the Phoenix went on a 6-2 run that cut the WSSU lead down to three points, 29-26 with just over a minute left. The Lady Rams would hold on to the three-point cushion for the remainder of the half and take a 31-28 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Lady Rams’ late first half struggles would continue early in the second half as the squad was held scoreless for the first three minutes of the half and the team’s lead would disappear, 31-31 on an Elon jumper and free throw. The Lady Rams would fall behind for the first time in the game on an Elon jumper with 16:53 left that left WSSU trailing, 33-31. the Lady Rams managed just two shots in the first four minutes of the half. The Phoenix would use the WSSU struggles to mount a 10-0 run and ull ahead of the Lady Rams, 38-31 with 15:51 left in the game. It wasn’t until the 14:52 mark when the Lady Rams scored their first points of the half on a lay-up by WSSU freshman center Elizabeth Maas. The score cut the WSSU deficit down to five points, 38-33. From there, the game would turn into a free throw shooting competition with the two teams combining for just one made field goal over the next five minutes of play. Through the first 12 minutes of the second half, the two teams hit a combined four field goals, but attempted over 20 free throws.
At the end of the dry run, the Lady Rams found themselves trailing 48-43, but a steal and lay-up by WSSU freshman guard Shatara Jackson would pull the Lady Rams to within three points, 45-48 with just over five minutes left to play. Bradford would get things going for the Lady Rams once again, hitting a jumper with just under five minutes left to play that pulled the Lady Rams to within one point, 47-48.
Down the stretch of the game, the Lady Rams continued to be aggressive, but the young squad would struggle with some critical turnovers down the stretch. After pulling to within one, the Lady Rams would turn the ball over on two straight possessions and allowed Elon to build a 55-48 lead with just over two minutes left to play.
The games final minutes saw the Lady Rams continue to push as Kee’s third three-pointer of the night pulled the Lady Rams to within two points, 57-59 with 37 seconds left. Following a pair of Elon free throws, a Bradford lay-up kept the Lady Rams in the game, 61-59 with 10 seconds left, but a WSSU turnover with four seconds left would seal the loss.