Winston-Salem State (0-10) took a 69-56 loss to the Campbell Camels (6-4), Monday evening. Though the Lady Rams had some stellar individual effort by team newcomers, the team struggled to keep up with the Camels who shot a scorching 53.2% from the field in the contest.
As a team, the Lady Rams had a solid overall effort, shooting 33.9% from the field as a team and forcing 28 Campbell turnovers. However, the Lady Rams’ effort was not enough to stop the Camels who were 33-of-62 from the field in the game. The game featured a pair of breakout performances by WSSU newcomers as redshirt-sophomore guard MaLisa Bumpus had a stellar effort, scoring 23 points, while freshman forward Jillian Charlet recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The duo scored 34 of the team’s 56 points as four Lady Rams were held scoreless in the contest.
After some early struggles, the Lady Rams battled back for a solid first half effort. The Lady Rams found themselves in an early 3-10 deficit in the first five minutes of play, but responded with a strong effort to pull themselves back into the game. A jumper by redshirt-senior guard Keoshia Worthy at the 14:53 mark would spark a 7-2 WSSU run that pulled the Lady Rams within one point, 11-12 with 9:50 left to play. It was Bumpus who would give the Lady Rams their first lead of the game with a lay-up at the 7:40 mark. The lead would not last, however, as the Lady Rams found themselves trailing once again after a pair of Campbell jumpers put the Lady Rams behind, 19-21 with 4:48 left to play. Both teams would turn up the defensive efforts as a Bumpus three-pointer was the only WSSU score for the remainder of the half and the team took a 22-27 deficit into the locker room at the half.
The Lady Rams’ struggles would continue later on in the half as the team was held without a field goal for the first four minutes of the half. The struggle left the Lady Rams with a 12-point deficit, 28-40 with 14:25 left to play. The deficit turned out to be too much for the Lady Rams to overcome as the team ended the night with their 10th straight loss to open the season. The Lady Rams were able to battle back in the contest as a Bumpus lay-up with 4:58 left to play, cut the WSSU deficit down to just nine points, 49-58. Bumpus would have to leave the game early with a minor calf injury, but is not likely to miss any more time. The Lady Rams would get no closer and ended the night with the 69-56 loss.
The Lady Rams will have a bit of a break as they will return to action on New Year’s Eve when the team heads to Greenville, South Carolina to take on the Furman Paladins.