(Raleigh, NC)- It was quite obvious what was at-stake tonight as the Lady Bears took on their cross-town foe, Saint Augustine's in a game at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium.
It was simple: If Shaw lost, they would get the fifth seed in the Southern Division, they win and get the second seed in the South in a tie-breaker over Winston-Salem State, and the Lady Bears did just that.
A valiant first half effort by Shaw, followed by an equally strong performance by St. Augustine's (17-10, 11-6), provided an interesting game in Raleigh.
Shaw came out of the gates off to a slow start as they seemed to be confused by the Lady Falcons defense. But that soon changed, as the Lady Bears started to create turnovers that led to points. The tremendous defense and offense helped Shaw manufacture 12 turnovers and shoot 48.6 percent in the first half.
The Lady Bears had multiple runs throughout the first half. Early on, the Lady Bears compiled a 7-0 run from 15:16, coming out of a timeout, to 12:58 where it was broken by a St. Augustine's three-pointer by Brittany Torain. During the run, Shaw was led by the outside shooting of Kyria Buford, who had 13 points and five rebounds in the first half.
On Shaw's second run, this one 11-3, they were again led by Buford, but this time it was Buford's down-low presence the befuddled the Lady Falcons defense. Just as it looked as if the Lady Bears were going to run away in the first, St. Augustine's came alive and closed the margin to just four, 28-24, on a made basket by Umeka Benson and the outside shooting of Allison Sikes.
The Lady Bears closed the first half strong with a couple of fast breaks by Allyssa Lane. At the half Shaw led 43-31.
The second half was a different story. St. Augustine's started to hit their stride against a Lady Bears offense that lulled from 14:29 to 7:15 as the Lady Falcons closed the Shaw deficit to five, 64-59 on the back of a 19-6 scoring run. Along with the lack of offense, the Lady Bears had 13 second half turnovers on top of shooting 3-8 from the charity stripe.
"We have to make our free throws and quit turning the ball over if we are going to have a chance," said Shaw Head Coach Jacques Curtis. "The second half we became too complacent with our decision-making and got away from going inside."
The Lady Falcons were led, in most part, by the perimeter play of Torain, who finished 3-7 from behind the arc. Torain helped spark the Lady Falcons comeback with a three-pointer at the 7:15 mark from the corner.
Though Shaw faced turmoil in the second, they were picked up by senior, Demaria Liles, who shined on Senior Night. Liles helped provide the momentum for the Lady Bears to close out the victory as she sank two lay-ups at 3:24 and 2:00.
The Lady Falcons were led in a balanced attack by Torain, who had a team high 14 points. St. Augustine's had a rough night offensively shooting only 30.9% on the game and 8-32 from behind the arc. Le'Kiesha White had a game high 18 rebounds to go along with 11 points.
Shaw was led by Demaria Liles on her Senior Night, as she accumulated 20 points, along with 15 rebounds. This was her fourth double-double in five games. Liles was helped out by a strong performance at the rim by Kyria Buford, who had a team high 21 points.
Shaw will be entering the CIAA tournament next week as the second seed in the Southern Division where they will face-off against the number seven seed from the Northern Division. "Patience. That's the key to winning the CIAA Tournament," said Curtis.
For information on game times and pairings, visit www.TheCIAA.com.
Article written by Ryan Jones, Intern
