WINSTON SALEM, N.C. —The #12 Shaw University Lady Bears built a 21-point lead in the second half, but watched as Winston-Salem State rallied, eventually trimming the Shaw lead to only five. Spurred by a critical three by Taylor Dalrymple, Shaw reclaimed their momentum late in the game and cruised to a 70-58 win in a game played Wednesday night at the C.E. Gaines Center.
"We let them get hot," said Shaw assistant head coach Ashante Timoll. "We turned the ball over several, several times and you can't score if you're not even getting attempts at the basket. They weren't doing anything spectacular, we were just having lapses and one turnover would turn into two turnovers."
With the win - Shaw's eighth straight - the Lady Bears improve to 16-2 on the season, 7-1 in the CIAA and 2-0 in the CIAA's Southern Division. With Fayetteville State's loss to Livingstone, the Lady Bears claim a share of first place in the South.
Shaw built the lead that would carry them through the Winston-Salem State rally early in the first half when the Lady Bears held the Lady Rams to less than 10 points for more than 12 minutes of the half.
"We have had stretches where we've had some shut down defense - when all five women on the court are playing strong defense," said Timoll. "It's hard for any team to make an adjustment to that."
In the first half, Winston-Salem State hit only 30 percent of their shots (nine of 30) and committed 11 turnovers. In contrast, the Lady Bears hit 15 of 29 (51.7 percent) and handed the ball over 11 times.
Both teams battled inside in the opening period, with Shaw getting 22 of their 37 points in the paint. while the Lady Rams collected 14 of theirs in the lane.
The Lady Bears defense smothered the Lady Rams early, not allowing WSSU to hit double digit scoring until 7:42 remained in the half. By that time, Shaw had opened a 27-10 lead.
Shaw broke on top early, opening with a 14-2 run fueled five points from Kearah Jeffreys and another four from Dalrymple.
After the Lady Rams cut the lead to ten, Shaw answered with another scoring run, this one for eight points - six coming from Ronika Ransford.
After Raven Fields finally pushed the Lady Rams into double digits, Adana David hit a layup to give Shaw a 19-point lead, their largest of the half.
WSSU scored the next six points on three buckets from three different players, cutting the Shaw lead to 13. With 1:17 left in the first, Vanessa Weston hit a pair of free throws for the Lady Rams to keep the Shaw lead to 13, but the Lady Bears closed out the half scoring four straight points to carry a 37-20 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Lady Ram offense woke up in the second half, scoring 26 points in the same amount of time it took them to score ten in the first. With the WSSU offense came some Lady Ram defense as well.
Shaw began the period strong, stretching their lead to 21 points with 16:44 left in the game when Dalrymple hit a layup to give Shaw a 46-25 lead.
Three minutes later, the Lady Bears still held a 20-point margin, 49-29. Somalia McKenney hit a layup for WSSU that would begin an 11-point run, punctuated by Raven Fields' three pointer with 10:43 left that trimmed the Shaw lead to 49-40.
Ronika Ransford hit a layup to end the Shaw scoring drought, but WSSU answered with another run - this one of six points - culminating in a pair of free throws from Dionna Scott that cut the Shaw lead to 51-46 with 8:40 to play.
Shaw scored four straight before allowing another WSSU bucket. With 6:53 remaining, Jovonah Graham hit a jumper to bring WSSU within seven, 55-48.
Ransford added a pair of free throws, then with 6:19 remaining, Dalrymple pulled in a rebound off a Graham missed shot, came down court, pulled up and sank a three to give Shaw a 12-point lead. WSSU would not get within 10 the rest of the evening.
For the rest of the game, the two teams would essentially trade buckets, with Shaw finishing with a 70-58 win.
Dalrymple finished the game with 21 points, ten rebounds, three assists and a steal.
"Taylor had a solid game for us," said Timoll. "She went six-for-nine, which is good for her. She's hit some critical buckets for us in the last couple of games."
Ransford was the only other Lady Bear to score in double digits, finishing with 14 points. Crystal Gordon tied Dalrymple with three assists to lead the team.
Fields led WSSU with 12 points, while Taylar Wells had 11 and Scott had ten. Scott led the Lady Rams with eight rebounds while Weston had four assists.
The Lady Bears return to action Saturday when they host cross-town rival Saint Augustine's in a 2:00 p.m. tip. Doors for the contest will open one hour before the contest begins.
