Jan. 13, 2007

Final Stats

In one of the most intensely battled games of the season, the Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (4-17) took a 62-49 loss to the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Lady Hawks (6-10, 1-2 MEAC), Saturday afternoon at the C.E. Gaines Center. The two teams made Women's Community Day an exciting affair with clutch shooting a staunch defense highlighting Saturday's game.

The game was a defensive battle with the two teams forcing a combined five blocked shots and 48 turnovers in the game. Both teams shot over 30% from the three-point line as well. Senior guar d Kadina Baldwin led the way for the Lady Rams with 12 points in the game, while sophomores Keoshia Worthy and Lavontay Johnson added 10 points each. Sophomore guard Richea Harris added nine points. Sophomore forward Candace Saunders led the WSSU rebounding effort with nine rebounds in the contest.

The game was a "see-saw" affair from the beginning with UMES jumping out to an early 14-4 lead with 13:12 left in the first half. The Lady Rams would not back down, however, scoring five unanswered points and cutting the WSSU deficit in half, 9-14, with 9:55.  It was a Baldwin three-pointer that capped the run. Though the Lady Hawks continued to pour on the offensive attack, the Lady Rams never backed down as a lay-up by sophomore forward Lavontay Johnson kept the Lady Rams to within three points, 18-21 with 6:36 left in the first half.

The Lady Rams stayed within striking distance for the rest of the half as the team never fell behind by more than five points for the rest of the half. Sophomore guard Richea Harris would be the heroine of the half hitting a three-pointer with three seconds left in the half that put the Lady Rams on top, 29-28 at halftime, the team's first lead since 1-0 just over two minutes into the game.

There was a much different story in the second half as the Lady Rams held their lead for just over five minutes and were never able to get back into the contest. An offensive drought by the Lady Rams offense in the second half would turn out to be the culprit in Saturday's loss as the team recorded just one field goal during a 13-minute span that left the team trailing, 40-48 with just over five minutes left in the half. The team did battle in the final minutes, but some clutch defense and free throw shooting in the final minutes sealed the deal for WSSU in the game. In the final two minutes of the game, the Lady Hawks hit eight-of-10 free throws in the final 1:30 seconds of the game to stall the WSSU comeback effort.