BOWIE, Md. - The Shaw University women's basketball team put on a defensive clinic, holding homestanding Bowie State to only 26.6 percent shooting as the Lady Bears downed the Lady Bulldogs 69-58 at the A.C. Jordan Arena on the BSU campus Saturday afternoon.

The win improves Shaw's record to 10-5, 4-1 in the CIAA, while Bowie State falls to 6-7, 1-4 in conference.

Shaw built a double digit lead in the first half on the back of strong defense and rebounding.  BSU fought back in the second half, outrebounding the Lady Bears 33-22 in the closing period alone.  Though they would pull as close as five, Shaw then quickly extended the lead, finally claiming the double-digit win.

In the first, Bowie attacked Shaw from long distance, launching 11 shots from beyond the arc and putting up 34 shots overall.  The Shaw defense, though, held them to only hitting nine of those shots, for 26.5 percent.  Shaw put up 30 shots, hitting 12 for a 40 percent shooting rate.

Shaw won the battle on the boards in the first as well, pulling in 27 to only 17 for the Lady Bulldogs.  Bowie State, though, committed only six turnovers, compared to 12 for the Lady Bears.

Bowie State started the game by challenging Shaw from beyond the arc.  Three of Bowie's first four shots were three-point attempts, but they sank only one as Shaw built a 6-3 lead.

Shaw extended that lead to 11-5, but Bowie State responded with five straight points, to trim the Shaw lead to one.  Micah Brooks hit a pair of free throws for Shaw, but Bowie State answered with a bucket to keep the Shaw lead at one.

Ariel Hatcher hit a three on the left wing to extend the Shaw lead to four,  but Donia Naylor hit a bucket and converted the three-point play to trim the lead yet again.  Ashley Castle then hit a bucket for the Lady Bulldogs to take the lead with 10:05 left in the first half.

The two teams exchanged threes, and Bowie got a bucket to extend their lead to three.  Kamiya Burwell hit a long three to tie the contest at 22 with 8:55 until the break. 

With Shaw leading 27-24, the two teams went cold, with neither hitting a bucket for nearly four minutes.  Burwell hit a jumper to put Shaw back on the board and, the next time down court, sank a long three from the right wing to give Shaw a 32-24 lead with 2:36 left in the half.

Bowie State went even longer without a bucket, after Alisha Burley hit a layup with 6:24 left in the half, the Lady Bulldogs did not score again the rest of the half.  By that time, Shaw had built a 34-24 lead going into the locker room at the half.

The two teams played evenly for the opening minutes of the second half.  With 14:38 left in the game, Diamond Mitchell  hit a layup to give Shaw a 43-33 lead.

Bowie State responded by scoring five straight to trim the Shaw lead to five at 43-38 with 13:12 left.    The Lady Bears then went on a 11-6 run to build the lead back to ten with 8:28 left.

Leading 57-48, Shaw went on a six-point run, culminating in a Bryann Guyton jumper that gave the Lady Bears a 63-48 lead with 5:11 left.

The Lady Bulldogs battled back, cutting the Shaw lead to seven when Castle hit a jumper to make the score 65-58 with 47 seconds left, but it was too little too late as the Lady Bears held on for the 69-58 win.

Burwell finished the game with 19 points, nine from beyond the arc.  Verdine Warner and Hatcher had 12 apiece.  Brooks' nine rebounds and Kaula Jacks' five assists led the Lady Bears.

Naylor led the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points and Denver Clyde had 12.  Naylor also hauled in 12 boards for a double-double.  Castle's five assists led BSU.

Monday, the Lady Bears continue their four-game road stretch as they travel to Lincoln (PA).  Game time is 5:30.  The Lady Bears return home Wednesday, January 22 to host Winston-Salem State in a CIAA divisional matchup at 6:00 p.m. at Shaw's C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.