Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls

Shaw Nips JCSU Women 74-73 in Regular Season Finale

2/18/2017 8:55:00 PM

JCSU Takes Southern Division #1 Seed into CIAA Tournament

JCSU Sports Information

Box Score Shaw Nips JCSU Women 74-73 in Regular Season Finale

Raleigh, N.C. (Feb. 18, 2017) –  Shaw University overcame a 15 point second half deficit to squeeze past Johnson C. Smith University 63-62 in the women's basketball regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gym.

JCSU, who clinched the CIAA Southern Division title this past Wednesday, enjoyed it's larges lead (53-38) with 4:13 remaining in the third quarter. Shaw then went on a 10-3 run to close to within 55-50 by the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth, Shaw eventually tied the game at 56-56 at the 6:46 mark on an Imani Heggins layup. JCSU then went up by four points (60-56) after baskets by Asha Jordan (Monroe, N.C.) and Anika Jones (Shelby, N.C.), but Shaw again rallied to knot it at 60-60 with 4:25 to play.  After Shaw forced the fourth tie of the game (65-65) at the 2:34 mark, the Bears would build a 74-70 lead with 10 seconds to play. JCSU's Krista White (Dayton, Ohio) then drained a three-pointer from in front of the team bench to close to within 74-73 with seven second left.

JCSU then forced a Shaw turnover and had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but the Golden Bulls' shot attempt was blocked at the buzzer and Shaw escaped with the 74-73 win.

In the loss, the Golden Bulls got 17 points from junior Blaire Thomas (Waterloo, Iowa) and 15 from Jones. White finished with 11 points while Kendall Adams (Opelika, Ala.) led the way on the boards, collecting seven rebounds to go along with four points. The loss drops JCSU to 19-7 overall and 12-4 in CIAA play. 

Shaw got a game-high 21 points from Bianca Maxwell while teammate Imani Heggins was the only other Bear to score in double figures as Shaw improves to 11-17 overall and 8-8 in CIAA play.

JCSU will next turn its attention to the CIAA Tournament, scheduled to tip-off on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in Charlotte, N.C. The Golden Bulls, by virtue of their CIAA Southern Division title, will get a first-round bye and will begin play on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Bojangles Coliseum against the winner of the first round game between Bowie State and Fayetteville State.