JCSU women's basketball celebrated their senior Brittany Dorsett (#30) with a 65-63 win over Livingstone at home
Box Score
Box Score vs. Livingstone
Charlotte, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team edges nearby rival Livingstone College for a 65-63 victory on Saturday afternoon at Brayboy Gymnasium. JCSU improves to 8-15 overall, 5-9 in the conference, and 3-5 in the Southern; while the Lady Blue Bears falls to 7-16 overall, 3-11 in the CIAA, and 1-7 in the division.
This game was a classic clash between two longtime conference rivals. Both teams had similar shooting percentages at the end of the first half. Livingstone held a slight advantage shooting 38% (11-29) from the floor, compared to 32% (10-31) shooting for JCSU. The Golden Bulls went into the locker room with confidence, despite trailing 30-29 at the break.
Junior forward
LaKendra Wilkerson (Greensboro, NC) set the tone for the Golden Bulls with eight points and five rebounds in the opening. Junior guard
Deanna Downer (Elberton, GA) and freshman guard
LaTondra Morrow (Charlotte, NC) contributed with six points each.
Tyesha Tharpe made an impact for Livingstone with 11 rebounds and eight points in the first half.
The second half was just as tightly contested as the first. The last two and half minutes determined the outcome of the game. Tiffany Evans made a three-pointer for the Lady Blue Bears to tie the score 59-59 with 2:21 remaining. Downer came down on the following possession and sank a jumper to move JCSU ahead.
Evans was foul and sent to the free throw line, but only made one of two attempts. Sophomore center
Chelsea Faulhaber (Spartanburg, SC) appeared to seal the victory with an old fashion three-point play. Faulhaber grabbed an offensive rebound, made the put back, and drew a foul. She made the foul shot to give JCSU a 64-60 advantage with under a minute left.
Ashley Walker threw a wrench in the Golden Bulls' plans with a three-pointer at the 28 second mark. Livingstone was forced to foul and Morrow made one of two foul shots. The Lady Blue Bears failed to score on their final possession and JCSU picked up the victory.
Senior guard
Brittany Dorsett (Winston-Salem, NC) had a game-high 17 points in the contest. Wilkerson and Downer both ended the game with a 14 points. Dorsett also had eight rebounds and five assists in her final performance in Brayboy.
“I can let out a sigh of relief,” said JCSU head coach
Stephen Joyner, Jr. “It's good to get the sweep, it's the only one we have in the division. Now we're looking ahead towards Winston. Our goal is to go 7-0 from here on out…so far we're 1-0.”
Evans scored a team-high 13 points for Livingstone and Tharpe pitched in 19 boards and 11 points.
JCSU will now travel to Winston-Salem, NC to face the Lady Rams of WSSU on Wednesday, February 20th. Game time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. inside the Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
