Jan. 30, 2007
There were just too many hills for the Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (5-20) to overcome Tuesday night as the team took its third straight loss, falling to the Navy Midshipmen (9-12) by as score of 58-39. The problems started early for the Lady Rams as only seven players suited for the team with two more players getting sidelined during the course of the game.
Injuries and foul troubles plagued a Lady Rams squad that totaled just 39 points for the game and allowed three different Navy runs of over 10 points or more. For the game, the Lady Rams shot just 29% from the field and were outrebounded 45-30, while the Midshipmen shot 39% from the field. Sophomore guard Keoshia Worthy led the way for the Lady Rams with 10 points in the game, but was sidelined with a second half injury. Fellow sophomore forward Lavontay Johnson led the Rams' rebounding effort with eight boards in the contest.
The Lady Rams opened the game with some solid play at both ends of the floor as freshman guard Ja'Pel Sumpter's running jumper in the lane gave the team an 8-4 lead with 15:42 left on the clock. The team would grab a big lead early as a jumper by senior center Shalonda Carter gave the team a 12-4 lead with just over 14 minutes left in the first half. The team scored six unanswered points to grab the early lead. However, the run did not last for the Lady Rams as the team went cold going nearly seven minutes without a score and allowing a 19-0 Navy run that left the Lady Rams trailing, 21-14 when freshman guard Ja'Pel Sumpter hit a pair of free throws that snapped the Lady Rams' 10-minute scoring drought that left the team trailing 23-14 with 3:53 left in the half.
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The free throws did give the team a big lift as they were followed by a pair of WSSU baskets, a lay-up by sophomore guard Keoshia Worthy and a jumper by senior guard Kadina Baldwin that pulled the Lady Rams back into the game 23-15 with just under three minutes left in the game. However, the Midshipmen would answer back in the final minute of the half, controlling the ball for nearly the entire 60 seconds and hitting a jumper at the buzzer that left the Lady Rams trailing, 30-20 at the half. For the half, the Lady Rams shot 37% from the field with 10 turnovers and had four players with four points each in the period.
With only seven players available to start the game, foul troubles crept up on the Lady Rams with senior center Shalonda Carter picking up her third foul in the first minute of the second half. The foul was the first of two WSSU fouls to start the second half. Hampered by the early foul troubles, the Lady Rams found offense tough to find early on with just one field goal in the first four minutes of the half while the Midshipmen continued to roll going on a 10-2 run and extending their lead to 18 points, 40-22 with 15:48 left in the half. Ironically, it was Worthy, who hit the team's first field goal of the half, which would get the team going hitting a lay-up with just over 14 minutes left that snapped the Navy run. Carter would continue the push for the Lady Rams hitting a tough jumper a minute later and cutting the WSSU deficit down to 14 points, 40-26.
The WSSU foul trouble began to show effects with the Midshipmen able to score almost at will in the paint with Carter's fouls, the Lady Rams' offense once again found scoring tough going four minutes without a field goal and allowing the Midshipmen to run off a 10-3 run. Combined with the previous run, the Lady Rams were outscored 20-5 during a span of eight minutes in the second half and put the game out of the Lady Rams' reach. With victory unlikely for the squad, the Lady Rams continued to battle down the stretch of the contest as senior guard Latoya Armstrong's jumper with just over four minutes left the Lady Rams with a 56-33 deficit. Though the team was able to outscore the Midshipmen, 6-2 in the final minutes of the contest, the effort was not enough as the Lady Rams ended the night with the 58-39 loss.
With the loss, the Lady Rams fall to 5-20 on the season and will return to action on Saturday when they head to
