(Charlotte, NC) - Kyria Buford and Demaria Liles each had a double-double for the Shaw women's basketball team, but their efforts weren't enough as the Lady Bears fell to Johnson C. Smith 64-57 in a key CIAA Divisional contest played at Brayboy Gymnasium on the JCSU campus.

Shaw (14-11, 7-7 CIAA, 3-4 Southern Division) got 26 points and 14 rebounds from Buford and another ten points and 17 rebounds from Liles, but that wasn't enough to overcome 23 turnovers and 30 percent shooting from the Lady Bears.

Johnson C. Smith 20-2, 12-2 CIAA, 6-1 Southern Division) did not shoot much better than Shaw, hitting only 23 of 70 shots, for a 32.9 percent rate, but they held on to the ball better, committing only 13 turnovers on the game.

Shaw kept the score close for much of the game, but could never take the lead - despite tying the game late in the second half.

The Lady Golden Bulls jumped on top early, scoring the first eight points of the game - four of those from LaQwesha Gamble. 

Brittney Spencer got the Lady Bears on the scoreboard with 17:26 left in the first half. and with 14:05 left, Spencer hit a three that cut the JCSU lead to three, 10-7.

Tyra Breaux immediately answered with a three for Johnson C. Smith, which started a nine-point run that allowed them to build a 12-point lead.

With 2:36 left in the first, Gamble hit a layup to give JCSU a 32-19 lead.  Over the remaining two and a half minutes, the Lady Bears went on an 8-2 run to cut the halftime deficit to seven, 34-27.

For the first ten minutes of the second half, the deficit remained in the seven to ten point range.  With 10:33 left in the game, Breaux hit a three-pointer to give the Lady Golden Bulls a ten-point, 49-39, lead. 

Buford answered with a three of her own to trigger a seven-point run that cut the JCSU lead to only three, 49-46.  The Lady Golden Bulls answered with five points of their own, putting the score at 54-46 with 7:08 left in the game.

JCSU fell silent offensively as Shaw slowly ran off eight unanswered points - two from Liles and six from Buford to tie the game at 54 with 2:52 left in the game.

The Lady Golden Bulls ran off two quick buckets and Buford hit a three to cut the lead to one with 1:41, but that was as close as the Lady Bears would get.    Shaw would not score again and the Lady Golden Bulls would score six more to set the final score at 64-57.

Spencer led the Lady Bears with eight assists while Buford's 26 led all scorers and Liles' 17 rebounds also topped the two teams.

Gamble had a double-double of her own, leading the Lady Golden Bulls with 17 points and 15 rebounds.  Breaux finished the game with 14 points. 

On Saturday, the Lady Bears host Fayetteville State in their annual Pink Zone game.  All fans are asked to wear pink to help raise awareness of breast cancer.  Tipoff is 6:00 p.m. and the game will be held at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.

Photos:  Kyria Buford (left) and Demaria Liles (right) each had a double-double in Shaw's game at Johnson C. Smith.