Shakira Clarke had the hot hand for the Lady Golden Bulls with a game-high 14 points (including a 6-for-6 night from the FT line) in the 55-47 win over Chowan
Murfreesboro, NC – The No. 22 ranked Lady Golden Bulls basketball team returned to the court with a 55-47 win over CIAA divisional foe Chowan University in the Helms Center Sunday afternoon. JCSU improves to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in the CIAA, while the Hawks fall to 2-5 and 1-3 in the conference.
The first half was a tug-of-war match with Johnson C. Smith prevailing. By the 5:48 mark, the game had reached its third tie at 16 apiece. Senior guard
Shakira Clarke (Toronto, Canada) broke the tie with two made free throws, followed by two back-to-back jumpers for six straight points. Senior forward
Demetria Bell (Indianapolis, IN) was fouled on a put back and hit her free throw for the traditional three-point play.
Chowan scored on a lay-up at the buzzer to close out the first half down 25-20. Clarke was 4-for-4 from the free throw and had a team-high eight points at the break. JCSU shot 26.7% from the field (8-30) and 56.3% from the FT line (9-16). Surprisingly, Chowan did not have any free throw attempts in the first, but shot 42.9% from the field (9-21).
CU's Tameka Christopher tied the game off a lay-up for the final time at 31 with 14:33 remaining. JCSU responded with a 12-3 scoring run. During the stretch, Clarke scored six and senior guard
Sheria Hatcher (Flint, MI) scored five. The Lady Golden Bulls pushed the lead to 50-40 with 2:53 left to play. The Hawks could not regain the lead in the final minutes and suffered their third conference loss this season 55-47.
J.C. Smith shot 40% from the field (10-25) in the second half for a 32.7 field goal percentage for the game (18-55). Chowan committed 22 turnovers and JCSU took advantage with 21-6 differentiate In points off turnovers. The Hawks were also beat 16-7 off second chance points.
Clarke finished with a game-high 14 points, three steals, and a perfect 6-for-6 night from the free throw line. Hatcher had nine points and three rebounds, followed by junior center
Brittane Neely (Arlington, VA) with eight points and three boards.
Talaya Lynch and Ransheeda Jennings were the top scorers for CU with 10 and nine points, respectively. The Hawks shot 42.6% from the floor (20-47) and connecting on two of their three free throws (66.7%).
“We played as a team and we won as a team,” said JCSU head coach
Vanessa Taylor. “Of course, it's great to earn a victory, but we have to stay focused and continue to take it one game at a time.”
Johnson C. Smith will return to action on Saturday, December 12th against Bluefield State College in Montgomery, WV. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
