Box Score
RALEIGH, N.C. — The 15th ranked Shaw University Lady Bears rebounded their way to their 20th victory of the season, defeating cross-town rival Saint Augustine's 88-68 on Saturday afternoon in a game played at Emery Gymnasium.
The Lady Bears matched a season-high 64 rebounds, 27 of which came on the offensive glass, to respond to an eight-point upset loss to Winston-Salem State earlier in the week. In comparison, the Lady Falcons were limited to just 36 rebounds in the loss.
The victory improves the Lady Bears to 20-4 overall, 11-3 in the CIAA and 6-2 in the Southern Division. The loss, meanwhile, drops the Lady Falcons to 11-12 overall, 7-7 in the CIAA and 4-4 in the Southern Division.
All but one player that participated in the contest had at least one rebound to help Shaw dominate on the glass. Crystal Gordon led Shaw's rebounding presence, earning a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 12 boards.
Along with Gordon, two other Lady Bears finished in double figures and four others came close. Taylor Dalrymple led all scorers with 16 points off the bench to go along with eight rebounds. Crystal Harris added 12 points and eight rebounds, also coming off the bench.
Isayra Diaz finished with nine points and five rebounds, Crystal Wilson added nine points and seven boards for the Lady Bears. Diamond Mitchell finished with eight points and seven rebounds while Adana David also had eight points to go along with her six rebounds.
Offensively, the Lady Bears shot 34-of-75 from the floor for a 45.3 percent rate. After hitting just one three-pointer in Wednesday's loss to Winston-Salem State, Shaw buried four treys in Saturday's victory to sweep the season series over Saint Augustine's.
In contrast, the Lady Falcons were 24-of-70 from the floor for 34.3 percent. In the first half, Saint Augustine's shot a dismal 8-of-34 from the floor for a mere 23.5 percent. The Falcons shot better in the second half, shooting 16-of-36 in the frame for a 44.4 percent rate as they outscored the Lady Bears 46-44 in the period after trailing by 18 at halftime.
Both teams were relatively close for the opening portion of the first half as neither squad was able to muster more than a nine-point lead in the first five minutes of action.
Dalrymple's tip-in of a Harris missed jumper gave the Lady Bears a 15-6 advantage with 14:27 remaining in the period.
At the 11:49 mark of the period, Saint Augustine's Ebony Spencer buried one-of-two free throws to pull within three at 17-14.
That would be as close as the Lady Falcons would for the rest of the period as the Lady Bears responded with a 14-2 run over the next four minutes. Gordon sank a free throw to give Shaw a 31-16 lead with 7:54 remaining.
Gordon scored another bucket to give Shaw a 33-19 cushion. After SAU's Porscha Walton sank a free throw to cut the deficit to 13, the Lady Bears closed out the first half on a 9-5 run to take a 42-24 lead into halftime.
Both teams traded baskets in the early going of the second half. The Lady Falcons got on the board first when Tasha Mitchell buried a jumper from the top of the key at the 18:42 mark to bring her squad within 16.
After that, Diamond Mitchell converted a layup to put the Lady Bears back up by 18. The Lady Falcons responded with a bucket from Brianna Arrington, which was immediately answered with a layup by Harris to give the Lady Bears an 18-point lead at 46-28 with 17:34 remaining.
The teams continued trading baskets for the next two minutes. At the 15:24 mark, Dalrymple's layup gave Shaw a 51-35 lead.
Saint Augustine's mounted a mini-comeback as they cut the deficit to 12 after a jumper from Brianna Arrington to make it 51-39 with 14:51 remaining.
The 12-point margin would be as close as Saint Augustine's would get the rest of the way as Shaw answered with a 20-9 run over the next six minutes to build a 23-point lead, which was its largest of the game. Gordon received a pass from Diamond Mitchell under the basket as she converted a layup at the 8:35 mark to give the Lady Bears a 71-48 lead.
The Lady Falcons responded with a 16-5 run to pull within 12 one final time. Leading 76-64 with 5:26 left to play, the Lady Bears closed out the game with a 12-4 spurt to take the 20-point win.
Jasmine Cuffee and Terri Jacobs each had 13 points to lead the way for the Lady Falcons. Walton added 12 points and six rebounds for Saint Augustine's.
The Lady Bears will return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Fayetteville State. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Capel Arena.
