SC State Lady Bulldogs Defeat North Carolina Central, 70-50, In Final Road Game Of The Season
Durham, N.C.-The SC State women's basketball team cruised past North Carolina Central (NC Central) 70-50, to close out its 2012-13 road season. With the win the Lady Bulldogs improved to 18-8 overall and 10-5 in the MEAC. NC Central dropped to 2-26 overall and 2-13 in the MEAC.
For the second straight game, Tiara Knotts led SC State in scoring dropping in a game-high 19 points. Knotts also had six steals in the contest. Ashley Clarke was the only other Lady Bulldogs player to score in double-figures with 10. Fannie Goodwin continued to be effective off the bench, as she contributed nine points with four rebounds, one block and one steal.
North Carolina Central was led by Aja Hoyle with 14 points. Chasidy Williams and Tisha Dixon also recorded double-figures for the Lady Eagles with 11 and 10, respectively.
SC State Opened the game with an 11-4 run before NC Central put its offense into motion. The first half was a game of runs as the Lady Eagles used a 13-6 run to tie the game at 17-17. Then it was the Lady Bulldogs turn as they used an 8-0 run of their own to take the 25-17 lead with 4:19 remaining in the half. NC Central scored the next 9-of-10 points to tie the game once again (26-26). The teams exchanged the next two baskets before a layup by Brittany Cochran and a three-pointer at the buzzer gave SC State the five point lead heading into intermission, 33-28.
The Lady Bulldogs scored the first six points of the second stanza to take the 39-28 lead and command of the contest. SC State would push its lead to 18, 36-54, midway through the second half (10:18). NC Central could not get any offense going as they fell behind by 24, with just under six minutes remaining the game. The Lady Eagles did however manage to cut the deficit to 21, 46-67, but could not get any closer eventually falling by 20, 70-50.
Kourtney Williams also gave the Lady Bulldogs some quality minutes off the bench as she dropped in nine points with three rebounds and two steals.
For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com or www.nccueaglepride.com.
Lady Pirates Pick Up 15th Straight Win, Dismantle B-CU
HAMPTON, Va. - The Hampton University women's basketball team picked up its 15th straight win on Monday evening, using a stifling defense to upend Bethune-Cookman 74-28 at the HU Convocation Center.
The Lady Pirates (24-5, 15-0 MEAC) tied the program Div. I record for longest winning streak, joining the 1997-98 Hampton squad that also won 15 straight games. Hampton also allowed the second-fewest points in program history.
Keiara Avant recorded her 18th double-double of the season, tops in the MEAC, with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Nicole Hamilton also scored 14 points and dished out a team-high five assists.
Olivia Allen poured in 12 points, and Alyssa Bennett and Ariel Phelps each added 10 points.
The Lady Pirates led 11-8 with 14:53 left in the first half, before six straight points put Hampton up 17-8 after a layup from Avant at the 12:05 mark. Rene Chastity Taylor answered with a jumper with 11:41 left in the half - a basket that wound up being B-CU's last field goal of the half.
Sharnese Neal cut Hampton's lead to 20-12 with a pair of free throws at the 7:44 mark, but the Lady Pirates answered with a 15-0 run - including back-to-back 3-pointers from Hamilton - to take a 35-12 lead with 2:43 left in the half.
Shakeyia Colyer hit two free throws to cut the lead to 35-14 at the 2:12 mark, but the Lady Pirates went into the locker room with a 27-14 lead after JoNiquia Guilford hit two free throws with one second left in the half.
Hampton opened the second half on a 12-3 run, taking a 49-17 lead with 13:33 left to player after a fast-break layup from Bennett. Neal hit a jumper with 10:11 left to cut that lead to 51-21, but the Lady Pirates answered with a 15-0 run to take a 66-21 lead after an Avant jumper with 4:25 left.
Kenia Cole hit a trey with 2:37 left to give Hampton a 70-25 lead. B-CU went without a field goal from the 10:11 mark until Neal hit a layup with 1:53 left to cut Hampton's lead to 70-27.
The Lady Wildcats (12-15, 7-8 MEAC) shot just 19.0 percent (8-for-42) from the floor and missed all nine of their 3-point attempts. B-CU went 12-for-17 (70.6 percent) from the free throw line.
Neal led B-CU with 12 points.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.bcuathletics.com.
Lady Hawks Comeback Falls Short, UMES Falls to Coppin State 69-60
BALTIMORE - UMES made a good comeback attempt after the final media timeout but fell short in a 69-60 defeat to Coppin State on Monday. The Lady Hawks fall to 7-19 overall and 3-12 in the conference while Coppin State goes to 13-15 this season and 9-6 in the MEAC.
Alexis Udoji was a strong defensive and offensive player to start, scoring four points early and blocking three shots as the score was tied 4-4.
After the first media timeout, the Lady Hawks started causing turnovers and hitting shots, going on a 9-0 run, led by five points from Sha-Kiyla Finney, to take a 13-4 lead.
With UMES up 18-7, the Eagles responded with their own 9-0 run and later got to within one 21-20 off 10 points from Shawntae Payne.
The Lady Hawks stayed ahead though off a pair of Finney throws and a wing three from Shawnee Sweeney pushed UMES up 26-20.
The Eagles pushed back with five straight points. Each side exchanged a bucket as UMES kept the lead going into the locker room with a 28-27 advantage at the break.
Out of the locker room, Coppin State kept getting to the free throw line and began on an 11-0 run through the first five minutes of the period to go up 35-28.
After a Finney three, each side engaged in a free throw battle with neither side able to hit many baskets. After Finney hit a layup to pull UMES within six, Coppin State got two layups in a row to go up 10 with 12 minutes to play.
UMES got three points back in the next minute but Coppin State continued to build its lead off the free throw line. The Eagles led 65-49 at the final media timeout.
In the final couple of minutes the UMES defense played strong as the Lady Hawks tried to come back. Ashleigh Claybrooks hit a couple of free throws to start the run. After a stop, Udoji hit a jumper, and after another defensive stop, Roach hit a jumper to pull UMES within nine 65-56 with 2:29 left.
Later with 1:04 remaining, Udoji hit a layup to get the Lady Hawks back within seven, 65-58, for a 9-0 run. But UMES could not get closer as Coppin State held on for the win 69-60.
Finney finished with a career-high in points in a MEAC game, scoring 16 points, adding five rebounds and four assists. Udoji shot 5-8 from the field for 12 rebounds, also contributing six boards and four blocks. Off the bench, Claybrooks was 3-for-3 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line to total 12 points.
For Coppin State, Kyra Coleman went 10-of-13 from the free throw line to finish with 16 points and three steals. Payne concluded with 14 points, while Larrisa Carter had 13 points and five rebounds.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com or www.coppinstatesports.com.
North Carolina A&T Gets Win Over Savannah State, 58-47
GREENSBORO-On Monday, seniors Nikia Gorham and JaQuayla Berry played their final game in Corbett Sports Center, and picked up their final home victory. Berry recorded 13 points and Nikia Gorham had four points and four rebounds from the bench as the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team defeated Savannah State, 58-47.
The win gave the Aggies their first 20-win season since 2009-10-Berry and Gorham's freshman season. The win also made Tarrell Robinson the first head coach in the history of the women's basketball program to win 20 games in his first year with the team.
The Aggies (20-8, 12-3) shot 36 percent from the floor against the Tigers (7-21, 2-13). They haven't shot under 40 percent in a game since losing at S.C. State on Feb. 16. The Aggies also missed 14 free throws on Monday. A&T was able to overcome an early deficit to lead by six at the half, and to end the game with a double-digit lead.
The Tigers jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead in the first four minutes of the game, and the Aggies worked to close the deficit. A 3-pointer from Adriana Nazario tied it up at 12-12 with 11:02 left. A pair of free throws by Gorham put the Aggies up, 14-12. From there, the Aggies did not trail but the Tigers did not let go of their lead so quickly.
Savannah State went on a quick 5-0 run to pull within three at the end of the first half. Eboni Ross ended the run with a layup, and Tracy King hit a free throw to give the Aggies a 28-22 lead at the half.
In the second half, the two teams traded point for point in the opening minutes. The Aggies found a way to shut down the Tigers and pull ahead with a 13-0 run, sparked by a layup by Ross. Jessica Lyon's three steals in a matter of minutes also helped the Aggies offense power ahead. But the Tigers showed that they weren't out of the game. A 3-pointer by Blessing Uba snapped a five-minute scoring drought by the Tigers to make it 54-38 with 5:54 left. Four straight points by Jasmine Norman pulled the Tigers within 12 points at 54-42. The Tigers scored five points in the last minute of the game to finish at 58-47.
King recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She also had a team-high five assists in the contest. Ross had 11 points for her sixth consecutive double-figure game. Jessica Lyons posted a career-best with five steals in the contest.
For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com or www.ssuathletics.com.
Florida A&M Holds Off NSU in Overtime, 84-76
NORFOLK, Va. - Ebony Brown drained a 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation to send the Norfolk State women's basketball team into overtime with Florida A&M, but the Spartans could not come out with a victory as they fell to the Lady Rattlers, 84-76, on Monday night at Joseph Echols Hall.
The Lady Rattlers (11-17, 8-7) came out hot in overtime as Jasmine Grice drained a 3-pointer with 3:52 to go to give FAMU a 71-66 lead over NSU. Grice led all scorers with 42 points to set a season-high MEAC scoring record.
Kashay Barnes made a layup with 1:20 left to give NSU (6-20, 4-11) its first field-goal in overtime, but the Spartans continued to trail the Lady Rattlers, 74-69.
Grice knocked down a pair of free throws as FAMU increased its lead to seven, 76-69, with 1:00 remaining in overtime. She was 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) from the strike on the night.
The Spartans responded with a pair of back-to-back field-goals by Batavia Owens with 37 seconds left to cut FAMU's lead to four. NSU trailed, 77-73.
FAMU's Kimberly Sparkman got the layup with an assist from Jaleesa Blue to make the score 79-73, with 28 seconds remaining.
NSU came within three points when Brown nailed a jumper with 22 seconds left, 79-76, but it was not enough to overtake FAMU. The Spartans never led in overtime.
Grice scored the last field-goal of the game as she got the layup with 13 seconds remaining to give FAMU an 82-76 lead over NSU. The Lady Rattlers finished the game shooting 66.7 (22-of-33) percent from the line.
The Spartans came out hot in the first half as senior Recca Trice nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to spark a 7-0 run with 19:16 left before halftime.
After two minutes, Patrice Collie nailed a jumper to give FAMU its first field-goal of the game with 17:46 to go in the first half. Collie's bucket sparked a 7-0 run to tie the game at seven with 15:58 remaining in the first half.
Owens responded with a layup at the other end as NSU retook the lead, 9-7, with 15:51 to play before halftime.
Keturah Martin got a layup on the other end with 11:21 left in the half to give FAMU a 20-16 lead over the Spartans. There were a total of three lead changes in the game.
NSU continued to be aggressive in the first half as junior Aivah Parham hit a jumper with 4:48 left before halftime to make the score 32-26, in favor of the Lady Rattlers.
Cristal Liriano answered for FAMU on the other end with a jumper to give the Lady Rattlers a 34-29 lead over NSU.
Gordon made the last two buckets of the half for NSU, which included a layup with 10 seconds left that sent NSU into halftime trailing FAMU, 34-33.
Grice scored 18 of her 42 points in the second half as she hit another shot with 13:45 to go as the Lady Rattlers led NSU, 44-42.
Brown made a trio of back-to-back jumpers with 7:06 on the clock and the Spartans seized a 54-50 lead over FAMU. Brown scored 17 points in the second half.
The Lady Rattlers went on a 14-3 run with 54 seconds left to overtake NSU, 64-57.
FAMU shot 48.3 (29-of-60) percent from the field on the night. Aside from Grice, Sparkman was the only other FAMU player to finish the game in double-figures. She closed out the game with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
NSU was held to 41.2 (28-of-68) percent shooting. Brown led NSU with 24 points while Gordon added 12 points, four rebounds and two steals, respectively. Owens also contributed for the Spartans as she posted her 12th career double-double with 21 points and 19 rebounds. Owens also had a career-high five assists.
For the complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com or www.nsuspartans.com.