[Winston-Salem, NC] -  Shaw opened the second half of their game against Winston-Salem State with a 10-2 run, and never let the Lady Rams back into the game, going on to claim a 75-68 victory Saturday night in a game played at C.E. Gaines Gymnasium.

With the win, Shaw improves to 16-6 overall, 11-1 in the CIAA and, most importantly for tournament seeding, 5-1 in the Southern Division.  Winston-Salem State drops to 15-7, 10-2 in the CIAA and 4-2 in the south.  Johnson C. Smith, with a win over Saint Augustine's Saturday night, also has a 5-1 record, but currently holds the tiebreaker over Shaw based on their win over Shaw February 4.

The Lady Bears defense forced 25 Lady Ram turnovers, and scored 23 points off those turnovers.  The Shaw defense also kept WSSU from getting strong looks at the basket.  The Lady Rams hit only 37.7 percent from the field in the game.  In contrast, Shaw hit 40.3 percent of their shots.

Winston-Salem State did have the advantage on the boards, collecting 48 rebounds to Shaw's 40, and collecting 16 second chance points compared to only 12 for the Lady Bears.

The biggest advantage for the Lady Bears came down low as Shaw outscored WSSU 40-24 in the paint.

The first half was a see-saw affair, with six ties and constantly changing leaders.  Winston-Salem State held the lead through much of the first seven minutes of the game, but with 13:30 left in the half, Crystal Harris hit a jumper in the lane to give the Lady Bears a 12-10 advantage.

Holding a 22-21 lead, the Lady Bears went on a seven-point scoring run that gave them their largest lead of the first half.  When Sequoyah Griffin hit a layup with 6:58 left in the half, she made the score 29-21.

WSSU responded with five points of their own, and outscored Shaw 12-3 in the next four minutes, taking a 33-32 lead on Jasmine Newkirk's three pointer.  Brittany Ransom would close out the scoring in the first, giving the Lady Bears a 34-33 halftime lead.

After building the nine-point lead to open the second half, the Lady Bears fought off a number of Lady Ram charges. 

With 9:39 left, Aslea Williams hit a layup to give the Lady Bears a 55-45 lead.  Over the next six minutes, WSSU outscored the Lady Bears 13-4 and trimmed the Shaw advantage to only one.   

Shaw ran off four straight points, building a five-point lead, and never letting the Lady Rams inside of three points the rest of the way.  In the closing minutes, WSSU stopped the clock by fouling Shaw, allowing the Lady Bears to build the seven-point margin, ending the game at 75-68.

Griffin led the Lady Bears with 21 points.  Kyria Buford had 18 and Williams added another 12.  Buford led all rebounders with eight. 

Newkirk led the Lady Rams with 16 points, while Taneisha White had another 15.  Monique Williams added 11.

The Lady Bears return home until Monday, February 13 when they host JCSU in the annual Pink Zone Game.  Tip for that contest is at 6:00 p.m. at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.