JCSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ADVANCES TO THE CIAA SEMIFINALS WITH A 75-70 WIN OVER THE WSSU LADY RAMS
Shavonda Price named MVP with career-high 27 points
Majority written contribution from Alex Podlogar of Fayetteville State Sports Information
Charlotte, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team advances to the semifinals of the 2012 CIAA Tournament with a 75-70 victory over Winston-Salem State University on Wednesday night inside the Time Warner Cable Arena. JCSU will play Chowan University on Friday, March 2nd at 3:00 p.m. in Time Warner Cable Arena.
All-CIAA senior guard
Shavonda Price (Fort Wayne, IN) was a perfect 12-of-12 from the foul line on her way to a career-high 27 points. Fellow All-CIAA senior guard
LaQwesha Gamble (Winter Haven, FL) added 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
“You just have to approach the game like it's your last,” said Price. “We weren't going to go without kicking and screaming. We've put so much into this season not to take advantage of the opportunity.”
The contest featured seven lead changes and four ties – all of which came in the first half. But it also featured a combined 10 scoring runs of at least six or more points, as the two teams traded haymakers throughout one of the best-played games thus far in the women's tournament.
Despite never holding the lead in the second half, Winston-Salem State (18-10) put forth a tremendous effort. The Lady Rams put together an 8-0 spurt to trim a 10-point second half deficit to two (51-49), with 10:23 remaining. However, the senior dynamic duo came through for the Golden Bulls. Price scored four points and Gamble come up with a steal and a nifty move to free herself for a jumper to spark a 10-2 response, which rebuilt the lead back to 61-51 with 7:23 left.
Emblematic of the entire game, though, Winston-Salem State came right back. With the Golden Bulls missing two shots early in the shot clock, the Lady Rams were able to get into the open floor off of long rebounds, and Courtney Medley capped a 9-2 stretch with a 3-pointer to make it 67-64 with 2:25 to go.
Gamble would later answered with a steal and a put back to push the lead back to six (71-65) with 1:11 remaining. Medley, who finished with 18 points leading four Lady Rams in double figures, buried a 25-foot 3 from the top of the key to again make it a one-possession game (71-68) with 54.4 seconds left.
But Price was too much, even in rebounding. She skied amongst a cluster of players to come down with a crucial defensive rebound and was fouled with 18.9 seconds left. Price made four straight foul shots in the closing seconds to stay perfect from the line, finally putting the game on ice.
“It was inspiring basketball, not just for the individuals, but for (Price's and Gamble's) teammates as well, who are depending on them,” Taylor said. “We're excited about getting through and taking our first step in the tournament.”
Sophomore center
Racquel Davis (Bamberg, Germany) shook off foul trouble to add nine points and nine rebounds for JCSU, who won for the third time this season over Winston-Salem State.
Monique Williams added 14 points, while Jasmine Newkirk had 11 and Jordhan Peterson had 10 for the Lady Rams.
Johnson C. Smith (21-5), the Southern Division's No. 2 seed, will play the Cinderella of the tournament, fifth-seeded Chowan (12-16), in the tournament semifinals at 3 p.m. on Friday.
