Lady Rams Looking to End 2006-07 Season on High Note - WINSTON-SALEM STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Feb. 20, 2007

The Lady Rams will wrap up the 2006-07 season when they take on the Savannah State Lady Tigers in the last game of 2007 for the team. The game should be an emotional one, especially since it is the final game for seniors Shalonda Carter, Kadina Baldwin, and Latoya Armstrong. There will be a brief ceremony honoring the seniors and their contribution to Lady Rams basketball right before tip-off of Wednesday's game.

Setting the Scene . . . The Lady Rams and the Lady Tigers will battle it out, Wednesday night with both teams heading into the game with a lot of reasons to want this win. Winston-Salem State would like to end the 2006-07 season on a positive note while Savannah State heads into the contest fresh off of a win and looking to get a measure of payback for a WSSU win at Lady Tiger Arena earlier this season.

Battling Back . . . Senior center Shalonda Carter went down with an ankle injury with five minutes left to play at Longwood. Carter will look to return for her final game against Savannah State and will have a chance to recover with eight days between games. Carter leads the team in scoring and rebounding this season and has been the team's leader for the past three seasons. Following the game at Longwood, Carter vowed to be back to play on Wednesday.

On the Line . . . The Lady Rams will have a lot to play for with Wednesday's game being the final game for senior center Shalonda Carter and senior guards Kadina Baldwin and Latoya Armstrong. All three players would like to end their careers on a positive note scoring the victory. As a team, the Lady Rams have a chance to end the 2006-07 season with a truckload of momentum, as the team is 2-1 in their last three games and could end the 2006-07 season with three wins in their last four games. The strong finish could give the squad a tremendous amount of momentum heading into their second season competing in NCAA Division I.

The Match-Up . . . On paper, Savannah State looks to have and advantage over the short-handed WSSU squad. The Lady Rams will likely have just eight active players, Wednesday night while Savannah State will bring in close to 10 players on their active roster. The Lady Tigers will also have the height advantage in the contest, with three players that are 6-2 or taller. Savannah State is prone to turnovers, however as the team has committed nearly 600 turnovers this season. With six of the Lady Rams' eight players being guards, the team will have a chance to take advantage of the turnover-prone Lady Tigers. The Lady Rams will need to push the tempo and avoid being held into a half-court contest where Savannah State holds the advantage.

Last Action . . . The Lady Rams took a tough 69-65 loss to the Longwood Lancers last Tuesday evening. The team battled back from a pair of 13-point deficits, but could never quite get over the hump. Sophomore forward Lavontay Johnson led the WSSU offense with 15 points in the game, but senior center Shalonda Carter posted a double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds before missing the last five minutes of action with an ankle injury. Savannah State heads into Wednesday's contest on the heels of a 78-65 win over Morris College. Senior center Shaunte Carter led the way for Savannah State with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Ms. 1,000 . . . Senior center Shalonda Carter broke the 1,000 barrier once again recording her 1,000th career rebound at Longwood Tuesday. The senior pulled in the board midway through the second half. She grabbed one more rebound at the same time that she injured her ankle and missed the last five minutes of the game. For her career, Carter has 1,001 rebounds.

Vs. Independents . . . The Lady Rams have had some quality performances against NCAA Division I Independent teams this season splitting with Savannah State and Longwood this season. Wednesday's game will be the team's first against an independent team at home, this season, however.

Home Cooked . . . The Lady Rams have struggled to find wins at the C.E. Gaines Center this season with a 3-7 record in home games this season. The team last took a home win on February 8th when the Lady Rams defeated Bethune-Cookman, 49-44. Though the team holds teams to fewer points at home, they counter the effort by totaling fewer points per game at home as well.

Presents in the Paint . . . Though the Lady Rams have just two post players in action currently, the team's two have played extremely well lately as senior center Shalonda Carter and sophomore forward Lavontay Johnson lead the team in points, rebounding and blocked shots. Johnson takes things up another notch leading the team in three-point shooting as well.

Road Warriors . . . The road has been much kinder to the Lady Rams, especially in recent games. The Lady Rams' last two wins have come on the road winning, 66-58 at Savannah State on January 20th and 71-66 at Morgan State last Saturday night. For the season, the Lady Rams are 4-12 away from home. The team has picked up on the road lately taking wins in two of their last five road games defeating Savannah State and Morgan State on the road. The team has played a really tough road schedule this season playing at North Carolina, Wake Forest, Delaware State, Navy, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech. The team has had some of its best performances on the road taking Wake Forest to overtime and coming to within 10 points at Virginia Tech.

Never Scared . . . The Lady Rams have proven that they will not be intimidated by the Atlantic Coast Conference this season as the team has had some great performances in some of the toughest environments to play, falling to Virginia Tech by just 10 points, 33-43, and taking Wake Forest to overtime last Friday. Of the three ACC teams that the Lady Rams have faced this season, only #2 North Carolina has beaten the Lady Rams by more than 16 points.

WSSU Radio Coverage . . . The WSSU Department of Athletics will broadcast all the home women's basketball games and Friday's game 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 February 21st when the team takes on Savannah State in the Lady Rams' season finale.

Savannah State University Radio Coverage . . . Savannah State will not broadcast will not broadcast Wednesday's game.

Websites . . . The official site of WSSU Athletics is www.WSSURAMS.com while the official site of Savannah State is www.SavState.edu/athletics.

A Quick Look at Savannah State University . . . Savannah State is an institution of over 100 years and is located on a 165-acre campus bordering the city of Savannah, Georgia. The university was founded in 1890 and is the oldest public historically black college in the state of Georgia. Originally named Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youth, the institution was originally located

in Athens, Georgia and moved to Savannah in 1891. The school was granted university

status in 1996, when Georgia State College was renamed Savannah State University.

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. Thursdays have not been kind to the Lady Rams as the team is 1-4 on the fifth day of the week.

First Wins 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 team had to wait much longer to get their first home win of 2007 with the team taking a 49-44 win over Bethune-Cookman last Thursday.

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. Recently, the Lady Rams have played some solid basketball, but have struggled to score wins posting a 1-7 record since the beginning of January. Last time out, the Lady Rams took a 69-65 loss to the Longwood Lancers last Tuesday.

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 57-71. 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 5-18 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 56-70.

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.

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.

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.