Shaw Holds Off Charging Virginia Union for 63-57 Win

[Richmond, VA] -  Shaw built a double-digit lead in the second half, but had to hold off constant pressure from Virginia Union to bring home a 63-57 win Tuesday night. 

The game, a non-conference matchup, gave the Lady Bears their eighth straight win.  They improve to 12-5 on the season and remain 7-0 in the CIAA, 1-0 in the Southern Division.  The Lady Panther fall to 5-10, and remain 2-5 in the CIAA.   

"We always seem to get it done," said Shaw assistant head coach Ashante Timoll.  "We beat them by 25 last time (on Jan. 9) and they wanted to get us back."

Union opened an early lead, but the Lady Bears slowly got in the game, battling turnovers - 15 in the first half alone - and poor shooting, but still taking the lead with just over eight minutes left in the half.

"We came out flat," said Timoll.  "This is a tough place to play and they don't stop playing when  you get past them on offense.  They'll come at you from behind and make a move for the ball, and they're quick."

The Lady Bears had a ten-point lead with 12:54 left in the game, but the Lady Panthers ran off a 10-2 run that cut the Shaw lead to two, and later tied the game at 47-all.

"It was a combination of everything," Timoll said.  "The crowd was intense and we let up a little bit."

In the first, the Lady Bears stayed in the game with a strong performance from the free throw line.  Shaw was nine of 11 from the charity stripe, while the Lady Panthers only hit two of two attempts in the half.

After allowing Virginia Union to build a seven-point lead, the Lady Bears scored five straight, cutting the lead to two.   With 9:08 left in the first, Brittany Ransom hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 15 and later scored on a fastbreak to give the Bears the lead.  By the half, the Lady Bears had built a 29-23 lead.

The Lady Bears came out of the locker room in the second with a hot shooting hand and smothering defense.  With 18:05 left in the game, Sequoyah Griffin stole the ball, drove the length of the court and made the layup to give the Bears a 35-24 lead.

With 6:07 left in the game, Shahadah Barret hit a layup on the fastbreak to tie the game at 47.  Shaw immediately scored four points, and never let the Lady Panthers within two again, finishing with the 63-57 win.

On the game, the Lady Bears had 26 turnovers and 41 rebounds.  They held the Lady Panthers to only 26 rebounds - on six off the offensive glass. 

Both Griffin and Victoria Tanner had 14 points to lead the Lady Bears.  Kyria Buford had 11 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double.  Allyssa Lane led Shaw with seven assists on the night.

Collier led all scorers with 18 points while Melyse Brown and Danielle Ferguson had ten apiece.   Collier led the Lady Panthers with seven rebounds.

The Lady Bears next action is Saturday when they host Livingstone at 2:00 p.m.  The game is at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.