Lady Wildcats Mangle Marygrove Mustangs, 80-17DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - There wasn't much that didn't go Bethune-Cookman's way in Thursday night's matchup against Marygrove College as the Lady Wildcats tore through the Mustangs with a whopping 63-point victory (80-17) at Moore Gymnasium. The big win makes it three wins in a row, and featured yet another big game for the recent additions to the team.
The Lady Wildcats accomplished that feat as they raced out quickly on the scoreboard, hitting 10-0 at the first timeout, using strong ball pressure to force bad shots for Marygrove, while running their offense with excellent distribution. Just three minutes later, that lead had grown to 19-0 in favor of B-CU. In fact, it was 11:11 in the first half before the Mustangs got on the board. The gap continued to grow and the Lady Wildcats went into the locker room leading 48-7.
In the second half, the scoring spree continued, with B-CU extending to a 58-point margin before Marygrove could really respond. The deficit shot into the sixties as B-CU held Marygrove to just one point in the final eleven minutes of the game, working mostly with just reserve players, with Coach Blair pulling all but one starter with around 13 minutes remaining.
On the boards, B-CU outrebounded MC 41-27, and created 16 points off second-chance opportunities.
Leading the team for the last five games on offense, Jasmine Elum cranked out another 23-point game, tying her career best, hitting 50 percent from the field and long range, in addition to three steals.
Sarah Bolden came out with a fire, showing her power in the low post, putting in 17 points, along with eight rebounds.
Parress Davis topped the team on the glass, grabbing 10 rebounds to go with her nine points and two blocks.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
Lady Rattlers Thwart East Carolina's Rally, 89-85
AMES, Iowa (Dec. 30) - Florida A&M had four Lady Rattlers to score in double -figures as the Lady Rattlers held on for a 89-85 win over East Carolina in their final game of the Cyclone Challenge, Thursday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum.
FAMU (5-6) was paced by Antonia Bennett as she scored a game high 24 points to lead all scorers. Tameka McKelton dropped in 22 points, followed by Christian Rateree with 16. Shekeira Copeland in her first collegiate start at FAMU finished with 10 points. Qiana Donald led the Lady Rattlers on the boards with 12 rebounds, while McKelton dished out a team high five assists.
ECU (6-7) also had a quartet of Pirates to score in double-figures with Kim Gay leading the way with a team high 20 points. Ashley Clarke finished with 13 points, while both Allison Spivey and Kelly Smith finished with 12 points each. Chareya Smith led ECU in rebounding with a team 10 boards.
For the complete story, visit www.famurattlersports.com
Lady Pirates Win GSU Invitational
ATLANTA, Ga. - Hampton beat Georgia State 74-44 on Thursday at the GSU Sports Arena to win the 17th annual Georgia State Invitational.
Senior forward Quanneisha Perry led the Lady Pirates with 17 points and seven rebounds, earning Tournament MVP honors. Perry is now eight points shy of becoming the 21st player in program history to score at least 1,000 career points.
Junior forward Melanie Warner and junior guard Choicetta McMillian each added 13 points. Warner was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Lady Pirates (8-4) shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the floor in picking up their seventh straight win, while holding Georgia State to 32.2 percent (19-for-59) shooting from the floor and forcing 17 Panther turnovers, converting them into 19 points.
Hampton shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) in the second half alone.
Georgia State out-rebounded the Lady Pirates 37-34. Chan Harris led the Panthers with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Angelique Burtts added 10 points. Both players were named to the All-Tournament team.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com SSU Women Topple Alabama State
SSU Women Topple Alabama State
SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State placed three players in double figures in a 58-47 win over Alabama State in Tiger Arena.
Ezinne Kalu, Darice Fountaine and Courtney Long combined for 44 points to lead the Lady Tigers as they improved to 7-7.
Kalu scored 18 points, including 10 from the free throw line. Fountaine added 16 points and Long contributed 10.
Alisha Nelson added nine rebounds for the winners.
SSU's defense limited Alabama State to shoot 28 percent from the floor and make 30 turnovers.
The Hornets (3-8) led 2-0 but SSU answered with 11 straight points.
Alabama State did not make their next field goal until the 8:03 mark when Yahindra Edwards made a jumper.
SSU led by as many as 10 points in the first half before the Hornets battled back to slice the Savannah State led to 18-14 with 2:13 left in the opening half.
Savannah State went without a field goal the final 4:24 but out-rebounded the Hornets 45 to 39.
Tanika Jackson came off the bench to pace ASU with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Poor Free-Throw Shooting Dooms Lady Bison
WASHINGTON, DC - Howard shot just 52 percent from the charity stripe en route to a 45-44 decision against Fairleigh Dickinson (8-4) at Burr Gymnasium on Thurs. Dec. 30. This is the fourth straight loss for the Lady Bison and the fifth straight win for the Knights.
HU (3-10) finishes the month of December with a 1-4 mark.
Saadia Doyle recorded when sixth double-double of the season with game-bests of 17 points and 12 boards. Cheyenne Curley-Payne tallied nine points and seven rebounds on the night.
The Lady Bison won the battle in the paint (24-18), points off turnovers (12-4), and second chance opportunities (10-4) - but free-throw shooting proved to be key. The Knights went a flawless 10-for-10 from the stripe as Howard went 13-for-25. Rebounding was even with both teams pulling down 43 off the glass.
There were 11 ties and 17 lead changed, but neither team shot well as both were held to under a thirty percent clip for the entire game.
For the Knights, Laury was the only player in double-figures with 11 points in 32 minutes of action. Esther Wallce pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Mayrose chipped in with eight points and nine boards.
For the complete story, visit www.howard-bison.com
SC State Women Lose to USC 63-44
COLUMBIA, SC - Tiara Knotts, one of the smallest players on the court at 5-3, tossed in 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds - both team highs - for South Carolina State in a losing effort as the Lady Bulldogs dropped a 63-44 decision to intrastate rival South Carolina Thursday at the Colonial Life Center.
Knotts, a sophomore, was one of four Lady Bulldog players performing before hometown relatives and friends. One, transfer Fannie Goodwin, was seeing her first action in over a year after becoming eligible just a few days ago. Goodwin, a junior and Texas-El Paso transfer, contributed six points and three rebounds in the contest before fouling out with 1:22 left.
The Lady Bulldogs, who dropped their third consecutive contest, fell to 3-6 on the season. The loss was also the 18th straight to their intrastate rival in a series that the Gamecocks now lead 22-9.
Host USC was led by Valerie Nainima with 12 points, all in the opening half. Marah Strickland and La'Keisha Sutton contributed 10 points each. Charenee Stephens had a game-high 11 rebounds, but just one point, in the victory which lifted the Gamecocks to 8-5 on the season.
For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com
Stories to Follow:
Miami (Fl.) 74, Morgan State 47