Tyra Breaux concluded the night with a team-high 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds in the loss to SAC
JCSU TURNOVER PROVES COSTLY IN A 51-48 LOSS TO THE SAC LADY FALCONS
Lady Golden Bulls swept by St. Augustine’s this season
JCSU Sports Information student staff: Terica Peay
Box Score
Charlotte, NC - The JCSU Lady Golden Bulls basketball team slipped on a 51-48 divisional loss against the Lady Falcons of St. Augustine's College on Monday evening inside Brayboy Gymnasium. Johnson C. Smith falls to 16-7 overall, 9-7 in the CIAA, and 3-3 in the Western Division; while SAC drops to 13-9 overall, 9-6 in the conference, and 3-2 in the West. The last time these two teams met, SAC defeated JCSU 71-54 in Emery Gymnasium, Raleigh, NC.
At tip-off both teams seemed to take turns scoring, but that soon came to end. With a combination of forced turnovers and quick thinking JCSU was able to capture an early lead. The Lady Falcons readjusted their offense and tied the game at 12 all with 9:02 left in the half. For approximately three minutes both teams struggled to score, a three-pointer from sophomore guard
Terran Quattlebaum(Mitchellville, MD) broke the scoring drought and put J.C. Smith back out in front.
Going into halftime the Lady Golden Bulls held a narrow 23-21advantage. St. Augustine's was outscored 12-2 in the paint, but shot pretty well from the free throw line (4-of-5). Only four student-athletes had points for the Lady Falcons at the break. LeKeisha White had a team-high seven points. Senior forward
Demetria Bell (Indianapolis, IN) and junior guard
Tyra Breaux (Baltimore, MD) each paced JCSU with six points.
Johnson C. Smith pushed their lead to six (27-21) and SAC was held scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half. At the 13:42 mark, Allison Sikes stole the ball from Breaux and made a fast break lay-up to tie the contest. As the period winding down, JCSU was ahead 47-41 with three minutes left to play.
The Lady Golden Bulls have had close finishes in their last two games and tonight made it three. With less than 30 seconds remaining, JCSU led 48-46 and had possession. Bell got trapped in the right corner and turned the ball over. Eliezer Iceson stole the ball underneath the Lady Falcons' basket, made a lay-up and was fouled on the play. Iceson completed the three-point play to give St. Augustine's a 49-48 lead with 18 seconds on the clock.
Senior forward
Sheria Hatcher (Flint, MI) had her jumper blocked on the other end and JCSU was forced to foul. Iceson made two clutch free throws for a three-point SAC lead with eight seconds to play. Sophomore guard Terica Jones (Raleigh, NC) misfired on a final three-point attempt and the Lady Falcons picked up the season sweep.
Breaux concluded the night with a team-high 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Bell chipped in with eight points and nine boards. Hatcher came off the bench and scored seven. JCSU hit nine field goals each half, shooting 34% from the floor (18-53).
White had 17 points and seven assists for St. Augustine's. Sikes scored 12 with five rebounds and eight turnovers.
The Lady Golden Bulls will play their make-up game against Chowan University on Thursday, February 11th inside Brayboy Gymnasium. The original contest was postponed due to inclement weather. Fans are asked to wear as much white as possible for Thursday's white-out theme. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
