Dec. 21, 2006

Final Stats

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - The Winston-Salem State University Lady Rams basketball team, on the road 560 miles from the friendly confines of the C.E. Gaines Center, earned another road win over a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponent on Thursday evening as they downed the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman College by the score of 59-50 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The Lady Rams got off to a slow start in the early-going as the Wildcats jumped out to an early 14-4 lead with 13:59 remaining in the first half of play as it looked as though the road-weary Lady Rams would struggle against Bethune-Cookman.

Following a timeout, WSSU head coach Dee Stokes made significant lineup changes and the Lady Rams mounted a rally that would see them take a five-point lead at 29-24 with 3:13 remaining in the first half as the Lady Rams would never trail again in the contest.

"We are now 3-2 against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and that shows how, even at this early stage in the Division I process, we are having success.  I am very happy with how we responded tonight as we earned an important road win.  I wasn't happy with how we played in the first half but we made personnel changes and went with a four-guard lineup and we had some players really step up tonight in order for us to get the win." WSSU head coach Dee Stokes said in postgame interviews.

WSSU took a three-point advantage into the locker room at halftime as the Lady Rams steadfastly held to a 31-28 lead.

The Lady Rams saw their lead grow as large as 10 points on a pair of Kadina Baldwin free throws late in the second half as Winston-Salem State dominated the second 20 minutes of play en route to the nine-point victory.

The win improves the Lady Rams to 4-10 overall while the loss drops Bethune-Cookman College to 2-7 on the season.

Leading the way for the Lady Rams was Latoya Armstrong and her team-high 14 points.  Joining Armstrong in double figures was Shalonda Carter who recorded her second consecutive double-double and eighth double-double of the season as she recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Kadina Baldwin added 11 points as she was the third, and final, WSSU player in double-digits.

Bethune-Cookman College was led by Natasha Ferguson's 17 points in the loss.

"Latoya Armstrong hit a bit three in the corner, Kadina Baldwin hit several big shots and Shalonda played well again tonight.  We had players really step up and we earned this win.  I am very happy with the win and we will now have a few days off for the holidays and then we will resume playing again next week.  I am proud of the effort our players put forth and we can enjoy this win over the break."

The Lady Rams return to action on December 28-29, 2006 as they travel to Blacksburg, Virginia to participate in the two-day Virginia Tech "Lady Luck Holiday Tournament".

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.

- wssurams.com -