Feb. 3, 2007
Final Stats
The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (6-20) would not be denied Saturday afternoon when the team took a 71-66 win over the Morgan State Lady Bears (10-9, 5-4 MEAC). Though the team battled a tough Morgan State team that mounted run after run, the team countered with clutch play and determination to come away with the win. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Lady Rams and gave the team its first road win since January 20th at Savannah State.
The Lady Rams fought back from 13-point second half deficit on some stellar play by both senior center Shalonda Carter and sophomore guard Richea Harris to take the win. Carter led the Lady Ram offense with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Harris added 10 points, all in the second half. Senior guard Latoya Armstrong added 10 points, while sophomore forward Lavontay Johnson added 10 points and eight rebounds of her own. As a team, the Lady Rams shot 39% from the field and pulled in 47 rebounds, matching Morgan State at nearly every category.
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The first half was a story of runs featuring some stellar play by WSSU senior center Shalonda Carter. Though the Lady Rams had their share of struggles to open the contest, the team's seniors were not able to left the game get away from then fighting back at every step of the way in the first half. The team got off to an extremely slow start with senior guard Latoya Armstrong hitting the first points of the game for the Lady Rams, but by that time, nearly four minutes had past and the Lady Rams found themselves trailing 10-2. From there, the Lady Rams showed the toughness and determination that had defined the team all season long, tying the game, 17-17, on a three-pointer by senior guard Latoya Armstrong at the 12:00 mark. Though Morgan State would fight back outscoring the Lady Rams 6-2 and regaining control of the contest. 23-19, it was Carter would then take control of the contest, scoring six of her 10 points for the half during a five minute span that saw the Lady Rams regain the lead 33-32 with just over two minutes left in the game. Morgan State would respond, however tightening up the defense and holding the Lady Rams scoreless for the final two minutes of the game and pulling out to a 39-33 lead at the half.
Morgan State kept up the pressure for much of the second half, but Carter would continue her stellar play answer every run that the Lady Bears would mount and kept the Lady Rams in the game for all 40 minutes. The Lady Bears opened the half with another run hitting a pair of three-pointers in the first minute to push their lead to 45-33, but a Carter lay-up with 18:53 would snap the MSU run and keep the Lady Rams in the game, 35-45. Morgan State would continue to roll pushing their lead to as much as 13 points, 50-37, but Carter would once again pull the Lady Rams back into the contest scoring 10 of the team's 17 points to keep the team within eight points with 11:27 left in the game. Sophomore guard Akebia Williams' clutch shooting hitting a three-pointer with just 11:08 left in the game that pulled the Lady Rams to within five points, 57-52. Sophomore guard Richea Harris would pull the Lady Rams with within one point, 58-59 with just over six minutes left.
Morgan State would then take the game inside with scoring three unanswered baskets in the paint that put the Lady Rams behind, 60-64 with just over four minutes left in the game. Williams would once again be a big player for the team hitting a pair of free throws with just over two minutes left that set up an Armstrong three-pointer that gave the Lady Rams a 67-66 lead with just over a minute left in the game. Harris would hit another jumper on the next WSSU possession that put the game away 69-66 with 00:38 left. Though Morgan State would mount a furious effort forcing a pair of WSSU turnovers in the final 00:30 seconds of the game, the Lady Bears would counter the efforts with crucial fouls that put the game away.
With the team joining the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference next season, the Lady Rams have fared favorably against their future conference foes posting a 4-4 record against teams from the MEAC this season. The team will return home for their next action when they take on Bethune-Cookman with a chance to clinch a winning record against MEAC teams this season.
