Feb. 20, 2005
Winston-Salem, NC - A costly turnover with the game knotted at 82-82 and only six seconds remaining on the score clock would prove to be the Lady Rams' undoing on Sunday evening as Fayetteville State's Tiffany Mitchell stole the inbounds pass, was fouled, and converted the front end of a one-and-one to help the Lady Broncos edge the Lady Rams 83-82 at the LJVM Coliseum.
The fact that the Lady Rams were able to compete for the win in the game's waning moments was truly a testament to how hard the Lady Rams would play in the game's final 30 minutes, as WSSU would trail by double-digits throughout almost the game's entire first 10 minutes of play.
WSSU would start out the contest ice cold, missing eight of their first nine field-goal attempts, as well as turning the ball over six times en route to what seemed to be an insurmountable deficit, trailing by 17 points at 24-7 only 10:02 into the game.
However, WSSU would come back with a vengeance in the latter stages of the half as they trimmed that 17-point margin down to only two points as the half came to a close with the Lady Broncos leading 37-35 after 20 minutes.
The second half of play was one that saw the two teams trade baskets and exchange blows. The largest lead for either team during the second half would be a six-point Fayetteville State advantage with 4:38 to play as the Lady Broncos led 75-69.
WSSU would trim even that lead back, as WSSU pulled ahead by two-points, on a Nikki Eason layup, to record the Lady Rams' first lead of the game, at 82-80 with only 40 seconds remaining.
However, Tiffany Mitchell would score two more of her game-high 29 points only six seconds later to knot the score, forcing the game's climactic finish.
With six seconds on the clock, and the game tied at 82-all, the Lady Rams' Nikki Eason threw an errant inbounds pass that was stolen by Mitchell who raced the length of the court, kicking the ball to Monica Mason who was fouled with only two seconds to play in the game.
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Mason hit the front end of a one-and-one and purposely missed the second free-throw so as to not allow the Lady Rams to get a shot off, en route to handing the Broncos an 83-82 win over the Lady Rams.
Tiffany Mitchell led all scorers with 29 points as she was joined by her teammate Monica Mason who recorded 21 points. WSSU was led by Shalonda Carter who recorded 24 points and 13 rebounds in the loss, turning in a 6 of 11 shooting performance from the floor and a 12 of 13 performance from the free-throw line.
With the loss, the Lady Rams fall to 12-13 overall and will return to action on Tuesday, February 20th, 2005 as they play host to the Lady Eagles of North Carolina Central University. WSSU will host the Eagles at 5:30 pm at the LJVM Coliseum as they look to avenge a double-overtime loss that they suffered in Durham, NC earlier in the season.
For additional information on WSSU women's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com
