Shakira Clarke finished with a game-high 21 points in th 58-54 win over Shaw in Raleigh, NC
Box Score
Raleigh, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team pull out a 58-54 divisional victory against Shaw University Monday evening inside C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium. JCSU improves to 17-9 overall, 10-9 in the CIAA, and 4-5 in the Western Division; while Shaw falls to 14-10 overall, 9-9 in the conference, and 3-5 in the division.
Both teams played it close in the first half. By the 8:47 mark, the contest had reached its fifth tie (14-14) after a jumper from Jan'el Baxter. The shot from Baxter was in the midst of an 11-0 scoring run from the Lady Bears. Senior guard
Shakira Clarke (Toronto, Canada) broke the scoring drought with a jumper of her own.
Clarke scored eight points in the final four minutes, including two free throws which put JCSU ahead 26-25 with 1:06 before halftime. The Lady Bears produced two lay-ups before the end of the half and led 29-26 at the break. Shaw outscored J.C. Smith 14-4 in the paint and 10-4 off turnovers in the opening.
Seven minutes into the second half, the Lady Bears had pushed their advantage to double digits (44-33). The Lady Golden Bulls stayed persistent and began chipping away at the lead. Shaw went nearly five minutes without a score after a lay-up from Niesha Searles with 8:17 left. Meanwhile, JCSU rattled off 10 unanswered points for a 53-49 lead with 3:33 on the clock.
Shaw fought back with baskets inside and eventually took the lead at the free throw line. Baxter hit the second of two FT attempts for a 54-53 Shaw lead with 1:52 remaining. Junior guard
Shakeena Cunningham (Buffalo, NY) dished inside to junior forward/center
Brittane Neely (Arlington, VA) for a score under the basket. The lay-up put Johnson C. Smith up 55-54 with 46 seconds to play.
Shaw failed to convert on another field goal and J.C. Smith closed out the contest with 3-of-4 free throw shooting from Cunningham. The Lady Bears were outscored 32-25 in the second half.
The Lady Golden Bulls shot 34.8% from the field (16-46) on the night, compared to 30.5% shooting from Shaw (18-59).
Clarke finished with a game-high 21 points, including 11-of-14 shooting from the free throw line. Cunningham had 10 points and four rebounds and senior forward
Demetria Bell (Indianapolis, IN) contributed with seven points and 12 boards (10 defensive).
Tanisha McGaughey and Victoria Tanner scored 16 and 12 points, respectively for the Lady Bears.
Johnson C. Smith returns home for the season finale against Livingstone College on Saturday, February 20th. Saturday's game is Gold Explosion/Senior Night, Brayboy Gymnasium will be decked out in gold as we say farewell to our seniors. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm.
