Senior forward Demetria Bell battled for six points and six rebounds, but struggled from the field (3-8) and the FT line (0-3).
Box Score
Elizabeth City, NC – The No. 24 Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team suffer a 60-50 conference loss to Elizabeth City State University Saturday evening inside RL Vaughan Center. JCSU moves to 10-3 overall and 4-3 in the conference, while ECSU improves to 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the CIAA.
In the first half, ECSU jumped out in front with a 7-0 run five minutes into the game. JCSU responded with a 7-0 run of their own led by senior guard
Shakira Clarke (Toronto, Canada). Clarke scored five of the Lady Golden Bulls seven, including three free throws. J.C. Smith managed to grab a one-point lead at the 8:04 mark, but trailed by 3-5 points for the majority of the half.
The Lady Golden Bulls applied pressure on defense down the stretch and forced 11 first half turnovers. But, ECSU held a 26-25 advantage at the break. Clarke had a team-high seven points, followed by senior forward
Nicole Matthews (Baltimore, MD) with four.
Senior guard
Sheria Hatcher (Flint, MI) started off the second half with a jumper that put JCSU up 27-26. However, the Lady Vikings quickly retook the lead with a jumper on the other end. ECSU controlled the tempo and maintained a lead throughout the half. J.C. Smith lost their composure down the stretch and allowed Elizabeth City to push their advantage to double digits.
JCSU shot 30.9% from the field (17-55), compared to a 48.1 shooting percentage for Elizabeth City State. ECSU outscored J.C. Smith 30-16 inside the paint.
Clarke finished with a team-high nine points, followed by sophomore guard Jasmine Alston (Greensboro, NC) with eight. Senior forward
Demetria Bell (Indianapolis, IN) had six points and six rebounds before leaving the game with an injury.
Three Lady Vikings scored double figures led by Kenyatta Gill with 15 points and six rebounds. Joyce Freeman scored 12 and April Whitaker chipped 11 points.
Johnson C. Smith returns home for their next contest against St. Paul's College on Monday, January 11th. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm inside Brayboy Gymnasium.
