Tyra Breaux helped send her senior teammates out in explosive fashion, scoring 13 of a team season-high 79 points
Box Score
Charlotte, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team helped themselves in the division with a 79-52 victory over cross-town rival Livingstone College Saturday evening inside a packed Brayboy Gymnasium on Senior Night. JCSU finishes the season 18-9 overall, 11-9 in the CIAA, and 5-5 in the Western Division.
The Lady Golden Bulls wanted to send their seniors off in styles and put an exclamation point on the end of the regular season. Seniors
Demetria Bell (Indianapolis, IN),
Shakira Clarke (Toronto, Canada),
Sheria Hatcher (Flint, MI),
Nicole Matthews (Baltimore, MD) and
Brianna McClelland (Douglas, GA) all had plenty of friends and family in attendance and JCSU put on a show.
J.C. Smith took an 18-15 lead off a jumper from Clarke with 11:04 on the clock. By the 6:53 mark, the Lady Golden Bulls were ahead 29-20, thanks in part to back-to-back three pointers from sophomore guard Terica Jones (Raleigh, NC). Junior guard
Tyra Breaux (Baltimore, MD) hit the final field goal of the half to send JCSU into halftime with a 37-26 lead.
Four of the five senior started in the first half and all scored in the opening. Clarke had 10 points and four assists, followed by Breaux with five points off two of three shooting from the floor.
Livingstone trailed by 20 points four minutes into the second period. The lead never dropped below 16 and grew to as much as 29 with 2:18 left to play.
This is the most points the Lady Golden Bulls have scored all season, they were averaging 55.5 points per game (last in the CIAA). Thirteen student-athletes scored led by Clarke with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Breaux brought a very high energy level to the contest and concluded with 13 points and two steals.
Matthews had four points and four rebounds, Bell pitched in with six points and four boards, and Hatcher grabbed seven rebounds and scored six points, including a three pointer (10th 3-ptr this season). Junior forward/center
Brittane Neely snitched 12 rebounds and six points. McClelland concluded the senior report with five points and two rebounds.
The Lady Golden Bulls are currently tied with Elizabeth City State University for the 5th spot in the 2010 CIAA Tournament. Both teams have identical conference records and split the season series, but JCSU has one more overall victory. The first five seeds in this year's tournament will receive an opening day bye and play their first game on Wednesday, February 24th. All CIAA Tournament games will be played in the Time Warner Cable Arena in Uptown Charlotte.
