[Raleigh, NC] -  If it seems like it was only nine days ago that Johnson C. Smith handed Shaw their first loss of the CIAA season, that's because it was.  But Shaw made the loss seem like the distant past by defeating the visiting Lady Golden Bulls 86-56 in a game played at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium.

With the win, the Lady Bears improve to 17-6, 12-1 in the CIAA and 6-1 in the Southern Division, claiming the top spot.  The loss drops JCSU to 17-5, 11-2 in the conference and 5-2 in the division. 

The Lady Bears dominated in almost all statistical categories - areas where they'd been topped in the last meeting when JCSU defeated Shaw 68-66.  The turnaround was due to a change in Shaw's defensive strategy, which gave them the ability to play the fastbreak more frequently.

"We played them in a zone last time," said Shaw associate head coach Carl Hatchell.  "This time we played them in a man and it seemed to limit their shots."

The Lady Golden Bulls hit only 22 of their 76 field goal attempts, a 28.9 percent rate.  Shaw, on the other hand, sank 44.9 percent of their shots.  The Lady Bears also held a distinct advantage on the boards, collecting 54 rebounds to JCSU's 44.

"We knew that they were good on offensive rebounds," said Hatchell, "and they got 20 in this game, but we made them miss more shots, so they had the opportunity for more rebounds.  Last game we thought we did everything well except contest shots.  This game, we did that well."

He continued, "I thought, for the most part, that we were excellent on offense.  We didn't always make the shot, but you can't expect that.  We shot well.  This was probably our best game because we didn't have a letdown in intensity, pace, or focus.  We've not had as complete a game as this one."

After JCSU scored the opening bucket, Shaw went on a 13-4 run to open the first half, building a 13-6 lead on Kyria Buford's three pointer with 14:15 left in the half.  The Lady Golden Bulls would battle back, scoring the next six points, to make the score 13-12.

Shaw rebuilt the lead, and with 5:22 left in the first half, Aslea Williams hit a layup to give the Lady Bears a 31-20 lead.  The two teams exchanged buckets the rest of the way, with Shaw taking a 38-27 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Lady Bears scored the first six points of the second half, and Johnson C. Smith was never able to make a serious run.  They did cut the lead to 14 with 15:46 left in the game, but the Lady Beas scored the next eight points, and with 13:39 left, Buford hit a la to give the Lady Bears a 55-33 lead.

While the Lady Golden Bulls would trim that lead to 18, Shaw continued to slowly build a lead, closing out the half on a 29-17 run to give them the 30-point victory.

Buford and Crystal Harris each collected a double-double on the evening.  Buford scored 19 points and pulled in 17 rebounds while Harris had 17 points and 15 boards.  Williams added another 16 and Sequoyah Griffin had 12.  Allyssa Lane had four assists to lead both squads.

LaQwesha Gamble had a double-double of her own for Johnson C. Smith, scoring 21 and pulling in 15 rebounds.  Shavonda Price added 14 points.

The Lady Bears return to action Saturday when they travel to Fayetteville to take on Fayetteville State in a 5:30 p.m. tip.  Shaw returns home Monday, February 20 to take on Winston-Salem State in the annual Senior Night game.