Jan. 24, 2007

Final Stats

It takes a bit more than determination to score wins as the Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (5-18) showed a lot of heart, but took a 67-53 loss to the Delaware State Hornets (8-10, 4-3 MEAC), Wednesday night. A valiant effort at both ends of the floor would go unrewarded for the Lady Rams as they team suffered its first road loss against a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team this season.

The Lady Rams battled for all 40 minutes forcing 16 DSU turnovers, but were unable to overcome a Delaware State squad that shot 41.9% from the field in the contest. Senior center Shalonda Carter had a big night for the Lady Rams with 14 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks in the game. Senior guard Kadina Baldwin continued her string of strong games with 11 points and six rebounds in the contest. Sophomore guard Keoshia Worthy added 10 points in the contest.

The first half turned out to be a story of runs with both teams going on runs to challenge for the lead in the game. It was Delaware State, who got out first jumping out to a quick 6-2 lead and forcing WSSU turnovers on two of the Lady Rams' first three possessions. The Lady Rams would answer with a pair of unanswered baskets to tie the game, but the team was unable to wrest the lead from the Hornets. Delaware State was able to regain control of the contest with a 12-2 run that put the Lady Rams down, 18-8 with 12:44 left in the half. The Lady Rams continued to battle scoring three unanswered field goals and going three-of-four on consecutive free throws to get back into the game, 22-17 with 8:19 left in the half.

The Lady Rams continued to battle down the stretch of the half, but were unable to keep up with DSU junior guard Racquel Collier eight of the Hornets' next 10 points during a 13-3 DSU run that left the Lady Rams trailing 35-20 with just under three minutes left in the half. The final two minutes of the half saw the Lady Rams struggle on offense, but staying in the game forcing three DSU fouls and hitting a pair of free throws in the final two minutes of the half.  Though the team put up a strong effort, the DSU offense continued to operate and left the Lady Rams trailing 41-27 at the half. The story of the half was told on the halftime boxscore that showed the Hornets' blistering 53.1% field goal percentage for the half.

Turnovers dominated the start of the second half with the two teams combining for just two field goals, but six turnovers in the first three minutes of the half. Johnson would get the WSSU offense going hitting a lay-up with just under 15 minutes left in the game leaving the Lady Rams behind, 47-31 with 14:36 left to play. The two teams would turn up the offense with the two teams combining for 23 points in the next four minutes of play, but the run would do little for the Lady Rams who found themselves trailing 58-43 with 10:15 left in the game. Delaware State would extend their lead to as much as 19 points, 62-43 with just over eight minutes left in the half, but the Lady Rams continued to fight down the stretch of the game forcing three scoreless DSU possessions, but were unable to take advantage of the tough defense also going scoreless on their possessions as well. The Lady Rams were able to string a pair of unanswered field goals and cut the deficit to down to 16 points, 64-48 with 4:41 left in the game.

The game's final minutes saw the Lady Rams continue to chip away at the DSU lead with Baldwin and Carter scoring a pair of back-to-back baskets in the final minute to cut the WSSU deficit down to 14 points, 67-53 with 00:34 left in the game. The score would remain as the clock ran out on a Baldwin buzzer-beater attempt.

With the loss, the Lady Rams fall to 5-18 on the season, but will have a chance to redeem themselves this week. The Lady Rams will return "home" for a showdown with cross-town rival Wake Forest at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.