LaQwesha Gamble earned All-Tournament honors after a 13 point, 13 rebound performance in the championship loss to Shaw
CIAA Championship Box vs. Shaw
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball were seven points shy of claiming their second CIAA Tournament title in three seasons after a 62-56 loss against Shaw University in the 2011 CIAA Women's Championship game on Saturday evening inside the Time Warner Cable Arena. The Lady Golden Bulls finish the conference post season with the best overall record in the history of the women's program at 24-4; previous mark 22-5 during the 1999-00 season. Reigning CIAA Coach of the Year
Vanessa Taylor also set a new career mark for most wins in an individual season; surpassing her mark of 22-5.
This is the fifth time in history the Lady Bears (21-11) have defeated Johnson C. Smith in the CIAA Championship and the fourth time in the last nine years the Lady Golden Bulls, the 2009 CIAA champion, have finished as the tournament's runner-up (1989, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2011).
The Shaw Lady Bears virtually owned the last decade at the CIAA Tournament, winning five championships between 2003-2008.
“Although in defeat, we are extremely proud of our women's basketball team and what they've accomplished thus far,” said Taylor. “We hope that it is enough for the NCAA to say to us that we can live to play another day.”
The Lady Bears were down 43-37 with 10:05 remaining in the game after junior guards
Terran Quattlebaum (Mitchellville, MD) and
Terrica Jones (Raleigh, NC) combined for 13 points in an 18-5 run. Aslea Williams, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, scored seven straight points in a span of 1:40 to spark Shaw's decisive run of the game, a 12-0 spurt that handed the Lady Bears a 51-45 edge they would never relinquish.
“This one is big,” said Shaw coach Jacques Curtis, who has led the Lady Bears to each of their six titles in the last nine years. “And it's big because there was a lot of pressure on this team from the beginning, especially early in the season when we lost a couple of games. We knew we had to win this tournament to go on to the next level.”
Johnson C. Smith, the regular season Southern Division champion, closed within three points twice in the final 15 seconds, but Shaw made 5 of 6 foul shots – converting two 1-and-1s -- in the closing seconds to preserve the victory.
Allyssa Lane led Shaw, the No. 2 seed out of the South, with 16 points, hitting all seven of her shot attempts. Brittney Spencer, the CIAA leader in assists, added nine points, five assists and four rebounds while Kyria Buford chipped in eight points and six rebounds. Tournament MVP Demaria Liles had 15 points, six rebounds and three steals.
All-CIAA junior guard
LaQwesha Gamble (Winter Haven, FL) led the Golden Bulls with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Quattlebaum added 13 points and three steals, while All-Rookie freshman forward
Racquel Davis (Bamberg, Germany) had eight points and 10 rebounds. Gamble and Quattlebaum were named to the All-Tournament team.
Shaw, which started the game hitting its first four shots in less than 4 minutes, made only seven of its last 29 field goal attempts in the first half, and did not have a field goal in the final 6:31 of the opening period.
That enabled the Golden Bulls, despite shooting just 25 percent from the field in the first half, to get back into the game and set up the second period.
“Our young women adjusted their intensity and their execution,” said Taylor. “We started out a little bit flat today. So we had to make some mental adjustments more than anything, making sure that we were assured in our game plan. After we were able to do that, we made a solid run and were able to close the gap.”
Despite the loss, JCSU is still in contention for NCAA Division regional tournament competition. Prior to the start of the tournament, the Lady Golden Bulls were ranked 5th in the Atlantic Region. The top eight teams advance to regionals and Shaw receives an automatic bid for winning the conference championship.
