Head coach Vanessa Taylor kept her team composed down the stretch in the 57-54 win over Chowan
Murfreesboro, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team picked up their eighth straight victory with a 57-54 win against Chowan University Thursday evening inside the Helms Center. JCSU improves to 8-0 overall and 1-0 in the CIAA, while the Hawks move to 3-6 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
Both teams showed some rust in the first half coming off the holiday break. Chowan jumped out to a 21-13 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the half. The Lady Golden Bulls rattled off eight unanswered points to tie the game at 21 apiece. Senior guard
Shontanette Shaw (Raeford, NC) drove inside for a lay-up, followed by back to back three pointers from junior guard
Terran Quattlebaum (Mitchellville, MD) with 2:47 before halftime.
Each scored two more field goals before the break to go into the locker room tied 25-25. JCSU shot 35.7% from the floor (10-28) and 60% from the free throw line (3-5) in the first. Quattlebaum and senior guard
Shakeena Cunningham (Buffalo, NY) led the team in scoring with six points each.
Chowan shot 33% from the field (10-30) led by Brittany Nicholson and Ransheda Jennings with eight and seven points, respectively.
The contest stayed close in the second half, drawing to a sixth tie (42-42) after Cunningham converted one-of-two free throws at the 5:18 mark. The Lady Golden Bulls outscored Chowan 10-2 over the next three minutes for their largest lead of the game (52-44). The Hawks made it interesting the closing seconds on a traditional three-point play.
Chowan trailed 55-51 with 22 seconds left and Jennings was fouled on a made lay-up. Jennings converted on the free throw line to bring the Hawks within one (55-54). Junior guard
LaQwesha Gamble (Winter Haven, FL) sealed the victory for JCSU with two made baskets at the charity stripe. Chowan missed on a three point attempt as time expired.
Cunningham, Gamble, and Shaw all had a team-high 10 points for Johnson C. Smith in the win. Senior center
Brittane Neely (Arlington, VA) nearly closed in on a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Nicholson led Chowan with 13 points, followed by Jennings with 11 points and eight assists. The Hawks committed 24 turnovers compared to 17 for JCSU.
Johnson C. Smith continues their conference road swing on Saturday, January 8th against Elizabeth City State University. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. inside the RL Vaughn Center in Elizabeth City, NC.
