Jan. 23, 2007
The Lady Rams and Hornets will meet up in a crucial match-up for both teams as both teams head into the contest with a lot to prove. The Lady Rams will be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Delaware State is also coming off of a big win and are looking to string back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.
Setting the Scene . . . The Lady Rams head into their second road game in a four-game road stretch and are looking to post back-to-back wins for the first time this season. The Lady Rams are coming off of a big win over NCAA Division I Savannah State, but took a loss the last time they faced a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team. The Hornets head into the game following a 64-41 win over Norfolk State, Monday night and are looking for their third win in their last five games.
Recent Struggles . . . The Lady Rams have had a tough time scoring wins of late with last Saturday's win snapping a five-game losing skid by the team that included home losses to both Maryland-Eastern Shore and Livingstone. However, the Lady Rams have had some bright spots including some top play by the team's younger players.
Three-Point Stance . . . Sophomore forward Lavontay Johnson lit up the Savannah State Lady Tigers last Saturday afternoon hitting three three-pointers in the first half of the team's win. Johnson ended the game with 13 points in the game along with seven rebounds in the game.
Height Who? . . . Sophomore guard Akebia Williams made the most of her 5'7" frame with eight rebounds in the team's win over Savannah State. Her eight rebounds were a season-high for the guard and led all rebounders in the game.
One-Way MEAC Road? . . . The road has been kind to the Lady Rams in games against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams as the team has already notched road wins at Norfolk State and at Bethune-Cookman this season. The Lady Rams will also have to hit the road to take on MEAC foe, Morgan State next week. A win in either Wednesday's game or at Morgan State would give the team a winning record in road games against MEAC foes.
A Look Back...The Lady Rams posted a 10-18 overall record last season and posted a 5-11 conference record in their final year of membership in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). WSSU lost in the opening round of the CIAA Women's Championship tournament in Charlotte, NC to the Bowie State University Lady Bulldogs by the score of 52-51 as they closed out 25 years of CIAA basketball play before departing Division II for the ranks of Division I.
Last Action . . . The Lady Rams head into Wednesday's game fresh off of a 66-58 win over the Savannah State Lady Tigers last Saturday in their last action. Sophomore forward Lavontay Johnson led the way to the win with 13 points and seven rebounds in the game. She also added a pair of blocked shots in the game. Senior guard Kadina Baldwin also added seven assists, while sophomore guard Akebia Williams pulled in eight rebounds to lead all rebounders in the game. Saturday's game was Williams' first action since December as she has been sidelined by injury for much of the 2006-07 season.
The Series vs. Delaware State . . . Wednesday's game will be the second meeting between the two teams and will be the first of many meetings between the two future conference foes when WSSU joins the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Last time, Delaware State took a 67-51 win over the Lady Rams at the C.E. Gaines Center in November. WSSU senior center Shalonda Carter had a big game with 21 points and seven rebounds in the game, but was not enough to match a Delaware State squad that had four players reach double-digit scoring in the game. Senior guard Raquel Collier led the way for the Hornets with 16 points in the contest.
WSSU Radio Coverage . . . None for Saturday's game. The WSSU Department of Athletics will broadcast all the home women's basketball games on WSNC 90.5 FM with Maurice "Big Mo" Stanfield calling all the play-by-play action and LA Batchelor providing color commentary. The games are also available on the Internet at www.WSSU.edu by clicking on the link "Listen To WSNC 90.5 Online". The next WSSU broadcast will be on Saturday January 13, 2007 at 2:00 pm when WSSU takes on the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Websites...The official site of WSSU Athletics is www.WSSURAMS.com while the official site of the Hornets is www.gohornets.net.
A Quick Look at Delaware State University . . . Delaware State University was founded in 1891 as the State College for Colored Students. In 1947, the college was renamed Delaware State College and made the transition to Delaware State University on July 1, 1993. Delaware State was admitted to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 1970 as a one of the conference's founding members.
On the Line . . . Every game is a championship game for the Lady Rams, who are in the second year of the transition period in making the move to NCAA Division I. The Lady Rams will also be fighting for some payback and pride as they will face a future conference member as Delaware State is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. More recently, the Lady Rams will also be looking for a bit of payback as the Lady Rams took a 67-51 loss to the Delaware State Hornets in Winston-Salem and would like return the favor when they face the Hornets on their home court in Dover.
First Neutral Site Contest . . . The Lady Rams' action versus the Wildcats of New Hampshire (at the Lady Luck Classic in Blacksburg, VA) marked the Lady Rams' first contest at a neutral site during the 2006-07 season. WSSU dropped the contest by the score of 63-55 to fall to 0-1 on the season at neutral venues.
First Thursday Win Of `06-'07...The Lady Rams' most recent win, a 59-50 win over the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman College marked the first time in the 2006-07 season that WSSU won a game held on a Thursday. The win improved WSSU's overall record on Thursday to 1-3. They look to inch closer to evening that record by moving to 2-3 on Thursday's with a win over Georgia Tech on January 4, 2007.
First Win of 2007 . . . The Lady Rams took a bit longer than they would have liked to get their first win of 2007 when they took a 66-58 win over Savannah State. The win was the first win in four January games for the Lady Rams this season.
What's On Tap...The Lady Rams have their most difficult schedule in the 25-year history of the women's basketball program. WSSU opened the season with four road games during the season's first week of play. Winston-Salem State University lost at #2 North Carolina (83-32) on November 12 before traveling to Towson, MD to face Towson on November 14 where they lost 76-51. WSSU traveled to Auburn, AL to face Auburn University on November 17 where they dropped an 85-47 decision, and then traveled to face Alabama State on November 19 (L, 76-63). The Lady Rams' lost their first home contest (November 25) when they fell to Johnson C. Smith University at the C.E. Gaines Center in Winston-Salem, NC by the score of 73-63 and then earned their first win of the season, and first road win when they defeated Norfolk State in overtime 75-64. The Lady Rams fell to Delaware State University by the score of 67-51 and bounced back as they hammered NJIT 72-41. WSSU followed that win up with a close 66-52 loss to Appalachian State University and then fell again last at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in overtime by the score of 54-48 on December 9, 2006. The Lady Rams then lost their third consecutive game as they fell in defeat at Elon University on December 14 by the score of 50-42 before bouncing back this past Saturday with a losing-streak-snapping 56-47 win over Norfolk State University. WSSU's then fell in defeat on December 19 as the Lady Rams played well against a very good Towson Tiger team before losing 57-50 to drop to 3-10 on the season. WSSU then dropped a pair of games at the "Lady Luck Women's Basketball Classic" hosted by Virginia Tech this past weekend as they fell 43-33 to the Hokies and fell 63-55 to New Hampshire in the consolation match. The Lady Rams have struggled in 2007 taking three straight losses to open the year, falling to Georgia Tech, Livingston, and Radford. Most recently, the Lady Rams took a 62-49 loss to the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Lady Hawks last Saturday at the C.E. Gaines Center.
Making History . . . History was made Monday, November 27th in Norfolk, Virginia as the Lady Rams recorded their first Division I win in the program's history. Coach Dee Stokes netted her first win as WSSU's head coach and the Lady Rams improved to 1-5 at the Division I level with a win over a Division I opponent on the road at Norfolk State University.
New Head Coach . . . WSSU is led by Dee Stokes who is entering into her first year as head coach of the Lady Rams. Stokes is no stranger to the Division I coaching ranks as she is entering into her fifth season overall and has posted an all-time mark of 54-65. She comes to WSSU by way of Winthrop University where she spent two seasons as an assistant coach following a four-year spell as the head coach at East Carolina University. Stokes has posted a 4-15 record at WSSU as head coach and earned her first win as head coach at WSSU on November 27 versus Norfolk State. She has posted an overall head coaching record of 54-65.
Hitting the Century Mark...WSSU senior forward Shalonda Carter has played in over 100 career games at WSSU. She hit the 100-game mark on Saturday, January 7, 2007 at the C.E. Gaines Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina when she took the court versus Livingstone College. Unfortunately, her 100th game was cut short as she received her fifth foul with just less than 12 minutes left to play.
Next Up . . . The Lady Rams will return home to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a cross-town rivalry game on Friday. Wake Forest will be the fourth Atlantic Coast Conference team that the Lady Rams will have faced this season as the team has already taken losses to #2 North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech this season. Delaware State will return to conference play when they head south to take on the North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies, Saturday.
Nine Conferences Strong...The Lady Rams will face nine different conferences during the 2006-07 season. WSSU will face the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) three times, the Colonial Athletic Association (CIAA) three times, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) once, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA - NCAA Division II) twice, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) nine times, the Southern Conference (SoCON) twice, the Big East once, the Big South once and the Patriot League once. WSSU will also battle five teams that are classified as NCAA Independents.
Right Where She Left Off . . . Senior forward Shalonda Carter is again picking up where she left off last season. Carter has averaged nearly a double-double for her entire career, a span of 98 career games (of which she has started 94 of them). Carter is averaging 13.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game this season with a career average of 12.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. It took Carter only 77 games to break the 1,000-point plateau at WSSU, something she did as a junior.
Transition Year Two...The Lady Rams are currently in the second year of a five-year transition from the Division II level to the highest level of competition in Division I. The Lady Rams are an independent team that will join the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2007-08. Winston-Salem State University will become a full-fledged Division I member that is eligible for championships during the 2010-11 season.
12th MEAC Member...On July 20, 2006, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced that it will expand its membership to 12 members next year, as the league voted to admit Winston-Salem State University into the league beginning in 2007-08. "We are elated to welcome Winston-Salem into the MEAC family", said Commissioner Dennis Thomas. "Obviously we think that WSSU is an outstanding academic institution with an excellent athletics program." Winston-Salem State University is currently in the second year of its reclassification from Division II to NCAA Division I status. WSSU will begin a full MEAC schedule in all sports beginning in 2007-08. However they will not be eligible for MEAC Championship play until the 2010-11 football season. The addition of WSSU marks the first expansion for the MEAC since 1997, when Norfolk State University became the 11th member of the conference.
Road Weary... The Lady Rams are a woeful 2-9 on the road this season taking losses in their last three road games. The team's last win on the road came at Bethune-Cookman when the Lady Rams walked into Moore Gymnasium to take a 59-50 win over the Lady Wildcats.
Home Cooked . . . The Lady Rams have also struggled at home with a 2-7 record at the C.E. Gaines Center this season, including three straight home losses, including last Saturday's loss to the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Lady Hawks, 49-62.
Glass Matters . . . The glass has been good to the Lady Rams this season as the team is 3-2 when they outrebound their opponents, including Saturday's win over Savannah State. Though 6'1" senior center Shalonda Carter usually leads the way for the Lady Rams, it was 5'7" sophomore guard Akebia Williams who led the team's rebounding effort at Savannah State with a season-high eight rebounds. For the season, Carter leads the team averaging 10.0 rebounds per game this season.
A New Era; A Proud History . . . The Lady Rams are entering into a new era at WSSU as they are heading into the Division I ranks. However, the Rams have a history of basketball excellence as they have recorded 12 winning seasons en route to posting an overall mark of 331-337 over the span of 25 years of play.
The Training Room Report . . . Sophomore guard Akebia Williams has returned from injury with some solid play at Savannah State, while fellow sophomore forward Candace Saunders will miss her second game in a row.
