(Bowie, MD) – In a game that started slowly and never truly gained offensive momentum, Shaw struggled to hold onto the ball and find the bottom of the net, falling to Bowie State 42-36.

Shaw (9-6, 2-2 CIAA) sank only 15 of 53 shots on the game for 28.3 percent, and turned the ball over 24 times in the game.  Bowie State (7-3, 3-0 CIAA) squeaked over the 30 percent mark by hitting 16 for 53 for a 30.2 mark. 

The first half was the textbook definition of an exercise in futility.  Shaw hit only six of 30 shots (20 percent) and did not attempt a single free throw.  The Lady Bulldogs – who held the 15-13 halftime lead – hit only four of 31 (13 percent), but sank six of eight free throw attempts.

When a team only scores 15 (or 13) points in a half, there are bound to be long stretches when the team goes scoreless.  Both teams went scoreless early and again midway through the half.

 Jackie Sanders got the scoring started with a jumper after more than three and a half minutes had run off the clock.  Down 4-0, Bowie State finally got on the board for the first time with a three with 13:26 left in the first half. 

Shaw went for six minutes without scoring midway through the first half, while the Lady Bulldogs went nearly seven minutes without notching a point.

Both teams improved in the second half, and Bowie State slowly built a lead that while seemingly small, loomed much larger for the Lady Bears given the lack of offense.

Shaw took a quick lead at the beginning of the second half when Niesha Searles hit a free throw and Sanders sank a three to give the Lady Bears a 17-15 lead less than two minutes in.

Sanders hit another three with 15:59 left in the game to give the Lady Bears a 20-19 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs ran off ten straight points – while Shaw went scoreless for five and a half minutes – to give Bowie a 29-20 lead with 11:26 left in the half.

The Lady Bulldogs extended the lead to 11 points twice in the second half – the latest when Brittne Gowdy's pass found Kim Jones under the basket for a quick layup with only 6:24 left on the clock.

Shaw did make a late run, and with 3:10 left in the game, Sanders hit a jumper on the left side of the lane that cut the Bowie State lead to 36-31.  But in an offensively deficient game, a five-point lead proved too much to overcome.

Sanders led the Lady Bears with 12 points, and was the only Shaw player in double digits.  Victoria Tanner pulled in ten rebounds to lead both teams. 

Brittney Jackson had 11 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs, and teammate Chanita Jordan had ten.  Jordan also led Bowie State with six rebounds.   Cortney Baynard led both teams with four assists.

The Lady Bears return home Saturday against Chowan.  Tip is at 6:00 p.m. at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.