Jan. 4, 2007

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For Immediate Release

January 4, 2007

Lady Rams battle, fall to Georgia Tech, 75-43

Big second half lifts Hornets past Lady Rams

ATLANTA, GA - The Lady Rams of Winston-Salem (4-14) State put up quite a fight, but were outmuscled by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-5, 0-1 ACC) by a score of 75-43, Thursday. After playing tough for the first half, the Lady Rams ran out of gas in the second half to take the loss.

Despite some quality play on defense and a "never quit" attitude, the Lady Rams were not enough to match a hot shooting Georgia Tech team that shot 46% from the field and forced 22 WSSU turnovers. It was a tough second half that sealed the Lady Rams' fate with Georgia Tech outscoring Winston-Salem State, 42-22 and pulling away with the win.

Sophomore forward Candace Saunders led the way for the Lady Rams with nine points and six rebounds in the contest. Senior center Shalonda Carter added eight points and 10 rebounds in the game as well while sophomore guard Richea Harris and junior guard Keoshia Worthy added eight points each in the contest as well.

The Lady Rams played some tough defense in the half, but headed into the locker room trailing by 11. The team's tough defense paid off early forcing Georgia Tech into a lot of mistakes and taking an early 5-4 lead on a jumper by junior guard Keoshia Worthy at the 15:50 mark. Things looked good for the Lady Rams as the team kept pace with their ACC foes for much of the half and remained within five for the first ten minutes of the half as a lay-up by senior center Shalonda Carter kept the Lady Rams within three points, 15-12 with 10:29 left in the half. The Lady Rams took great care of the ball, giving up just one turnover in the first five.

The Yellow Jackets then took the game inside sparking a 10-3 run that put the game into the Tech's hands and put the Yellow Jackets on top, 25-15 with just over seven minutes left in the half. It was then that Georgia Tech would mount a 10-3 run and take control of the contest, 25-15 with just over seven minutes left in the half. The Lady Rams were outmuscled down the stretch of the half as Georgia Tech turned to its powerful inside game to stay ahead of the Lady Rams, scoring their next three field goals in the paint and outscoring the Rams 18-6 in the paint for the half. Despite some tough defense on both sides, the Lady Rams took a 33-21 deficit into the locker room at the half.

The second half began much like the first half as both teams came out hitting early baskets, however the Hornets kept their run going little longer outscoring the Lady Rams, 15-4 over the first five minutes of the half and taking a 48-27 advantage with 12:16 left in the game. Following a WSSU timeout, the Lady Rams would get things better on offense scoring field goals on their next two trips up the floor, but were unable to stop the Yellow Jackets from matching each basket and keeping the game out of reach for the Lady Rams, 59-37 with 7:34 left in the game.

Georgia Tech would pull away down the stretch of the game as a 10-5 run over the next five minutes proved to be too much for the Lady Rams. The team ended the night with a 75-43 loss, the team's fourth in a row.

The Lady Rams will not have long to rest as they will take on Livingstone, Saturday afternoon in a 2:00 p.m. match-up at the C.E. Gaines Center on the campus of Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.