Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (0-12) showed a lot of heart, but could not keep up with the hotshooting Maryland Eastern Shore Fighting Hawks (3-8, 0-1 MEAC) in a 75-58 loss Saturday afternoon. The game turned out to be a shootout between the two teams as both squads shot over 40% from the field in the contest and the two teams combined for 46 fouls.
As a team, Winston-Salem State was 18-of-43 from the floor in the loss. The Lady Rams were especially efficient at the free throw line hitting 19-of-26 free throws to keep the contest close. The team also won the turnover battle, 21-22. However, the Hawks’ 21-of-50 shooting performance was too much for the Lady Rams to overcome. The game featured a pair of breakout performances as WSSU redshirt-senior guard Keoshia Worthy and sophomore guard Rene Rector both notched 18 points in the game. WSSU sophomore forward Vontisha Woods added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
The first half was a tough one for the Lady Rams as the team saw a strong start wilt away in the down the stretch of the contest. Both teams got off to a slow start as the Hawks jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first five minutes of the contest. After a WSSU timeout, the Lady Rams were able to string together a pair of unanswered scores that pulled the team to within one point, 6-7 with 14:30 left in the first half. A three-pointer by WSSU redshirt-sophomore guard MaLisa Bumpus would tie the game 9-9 just over two minutes later, but turnover struggles would plague both teams midway through the half as UMES held on to a 12-11 lead with 9:1 left to play.
WSSU redshirt-senior would give the Lady Rams their only lead of the game when she hit a running jumper in the lane with just over eight minutes left to play. Though UMES would go on to regain the lead once again, WSSU freshman center Jordhan Peterson would tie the game 15-15 with just over eight minutes left to play. The Lady Rams would go cold as the team would not record a field goal over the next six minutes as UMES mounted a 12-4 run that left the Lady Rams trailing 27-19 with just over two minutes left in the half. A Vontisha Woods in the final minute would break the drought for the Lady Rams and pull the team within seven points, 21-28 heading into the locker room at halftime.
The two teams got off the scorching start in the second half, but the Lady Rams could not keep up with the Hawks as UMES pushed their lead to 13 points 43-30 with just over 16 minutes left to play. After scoring just 21 points in the first 20 minutes of play, the team amassed nine points in the first four minutes of the second half. The Lady Rams’ good start would not last as another offense drought would set in on the Lady Rams as the team went nearly eight minutes without a field goal, but some clutch free throw shooting would keep the Lady Rams in the game.
Despite the drought, the Lady Rams were able to battle their way back into the contest with sophomore guard Rene Rector leading the charge for the Lady Rams. A Rector lay-up with just over seven minutes left would pull the Lady Rams within 10 points, 41-51 while another Rector lay-up would cut the WSSU deficit to six points, 46-52 with just under six minutes left to play. The lay-up capped an eight point WSSU run.
The valiant effort was not enough as UMES would regain control of the contest with an 11-4 run that left the Lady Rams trailing 63-50 with just under three minutes left to play. Though the Lady Rams continued to battle in the game’s final minutes, the team would get no closer to the Hawks and ended the day with the 75-58 loss.
With the loss, the Lady Rams fall to 0-12 and tie last season’s record for the worst start in school history. The Lady Rams will head to Delaware State to take on the Lady Hornets, Monday evening.