(RALEIGH, NC)-  Johnson C. Smith's women's basketball team built a lead in the first, and while Shaw came close in the second the Lady Bears could never grab the lead and fell to the Lady Golden Bulls 73-67.

Shaw (12-10, 5-6 CIAA) cut the lead to as little as two with less than three minutes left in the game, but conference leading JCSU (18-1, 11-1 CIAA) hit critical free throws in the final minutes to hold the Lady Bears at bay.   JCSU had the better of Shaw from the perimeter, hitting six of 17 three pointers, compared to only three of 17 for the Lady Bears.

The Lady Bears built an early lead, gaining a five-point advantage when Alyssa Lane hit a layup with 16:29 left in the first to give Shaw a 10-5 lead.   But JCSU applied a full-court press that appeared to wear down Shaw.

In another three minutes, the Lady Golden Bulls had tied the score, and the two teams battled evenly until 7:38 remained in the half.  At that point, Shayla Russell hit a jumper to tie the score at 22 and start a 10-2 run, capped by back-to-back threes by Terran Quattlebaum to give the Lady Golden Bulls an eight-point, 32-24 lead.

The two teams all but traded buckets the rest of the way, with JCSU taking a ten-point lead into the locker room at the half, 38-28.

The Lady Golden Bulls stretched their lead to 12 as the half opened and held off a number of small Shaw charges throughout the first ten minutes of the second half.  With 10:36 left in the game, Racquel Davis tipped in a missed Russell jumper to give JCSU a 60-48 lead.

The Lady Bears then went on a tear, starting with an old-fashioned three pointer from Alyssa Lane, followed by two buckets each from Aslea Williams and Niesha Searles to key a ten-point scoring run that cut the JCSU lead to two, 60-58.

Shavonda Price hit a three for JCSU to stretch the lead back to five, then the Lady Golden Bulls held off a small Shaw charge that again cut the lead to two when Lane hit one of two free throws.   Tyra Breaux answered with an immediate three to stretch the lead back to five, and the Lady Bears never got within four the rest of the way, finally falling 73-67.

Williams led Shaw with 19 points, Lane had 16 and Jackie Sanders had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  Brittney Spencer had four assists to lead the Lady Bears.

Price led the Lady Golden Bulls with 13 points and Quattlebaum finished with 12.  Brittane Neely paced JCSU with ten rebounds and Breaux had three assists.

The Lady Bears return to action Monday, February 7, when they host Livingstone College and try to avenge an 11-point loss suffered at the hand of the Lady Blue Bears a week ago.  Tip is at 6:00 p.m. at Spaulding Gymnasium on the campus of Shaw University.

Photos:  Aslea Williams (left) hits a layup in the first half.  Jackie Sanders (right) hits a jumper from the wing in the first half.