RALEIGH, N.C. - The Shaw University women's basketball team couldn't shake Saint Augustine's for 30 minutes Saturday afternoon, but a scoring run midway through the second half lifted the Lady Bears over the Lady Falcons 67-56 at Emery Gymnasium on the SAU campus.
With the win, Shaw improves to 13-6, 7-2 in the CIAA and 3-0 in the Southern Division. Saint Augustine's falls to 10-7, 5-3 in conference and 1-2 in the division.
The Shaw defense held Saint Augustine's to 31.9 percent shooting and forced 21 Lady Falcon turnovers on the way to the win. Shaw hit 36 percent from the floor and committed 16 miscues. Much of the difference came at the free throw line. Both teams shot 16 free throws, with Shaw hitting 11 versus only six for SAU.
Shaw held a slim 53-50 margin in rebounding.
The first half began with Saint Augustine's building an early lead, but Shaw fought back, finally taking a lead late in the period. Both teams hit just above the 38 percent mark from the field, and Saint Aug held a 25-23 margin in rebounding.
The Lady Falcons build a six-point lead early in the half, building on hot shooting in the opening minutes.
After Kamiya Burwell hit a layup for Shaw to cut the Saint Augustine's lead to one at 7-6, the Lady Falcons scored five straight, taking a 12-6 lead into the first media time out.
Ariel Hatcher hit a three for the Lady Bears to trim that lead to three, but Saint Aug answered with a four-point run that stretched their lead to seven, 16-9.
With the Lady Falcons still up by seven, 20-13, Hatcher hit another three to start a 9-3 run that cut the lead to only one when Brittany Henry hit a layup to cut the score to 23-22.
Porscha Walton hit a three for SAU to up the lead to four, but Shaw answered with four straight, tying the game at 26.
Saint Augustine's would build the lead back to five, But Bryann Guyton and Diamond Mitchell combined for six straight points to give Shaw their first lead of the game with 2:08 left in the half. Both teams went cold from there until the whistle at the half, with Shaw still holding the 34-33 lead.
Shaw built their lead to five early in the second on a jumper from Kaula Jacks, but Saint Aug rallied, eventually tying the score at 40 on a layup from Jeanne-Marie Wilson with 15:13 left in the contest.
Three minutes later, Regime McCombs hit a jumper that gave the Lady Falcons a 44-42 lead. With 11:15 left in the game, Walton hit a free throw that gave SAU a one-point lead.
Shaw scored the next six straight, including two layups from Mitchell, giving them 50-45 lead with 8:19 left in the game.
After a bucket from the Lady Falcons, Shaw scored another four straight on their way to a 13-2 run that ended when Hatcher hit a layup on the fastbreak for Shaw, giving them a 63-49 lead with 1:57 left.
The lead would hover at the 12 to 14-point mark until the final seconds of the game when McCombs hit a three to close out the scoring, trimming the final Shaw margin to 11 at 67-56.
Mitchell led the Lady Bears with 13 points and eight assists. Verdine Warner was a force inside, scoring 11 and rebounding ten for a double-double. Hatcher finished with ten points.
McCombs was the leading scorer for the Lady Falcons with 14, while Walton finished with 11. Brittany Allen was the leading rebounder with 14.
The Lady Bears return to action Wednesday evening as they travel to Fayetteville State for a 5:30 p.m. tip. They return home February 1 when they host Johnson C. Smith at 2:00 p.m.
