RICHMOND, Va. - The Shaw University women's basketball team trailed by six with eight minutes left in the game, but used a 14-0 run to build a lead, then held on to defeat Virginia Union 78-67 at Barco-Stevens Hall on the VUU campus Thursday night.

The win improves Shaw's record to 9-5, 3-1 in the CIAA, while Virginia Union remains winless in the conference after four games and 3-9 overall.

The Lady Bears won the game on the boards, hauling  in 73 rebounds to only 38 for the Lady Panthers.  Verdine Warner pulled down 21 of those herself and was one of three Lady Bears to finish the contest with double-doubles.

 VUU made up for the rebounding deficit somewhat by forcing 24 Shaw turnovers while only committing 14 miscues of their own.

Shaw hit 37.7 percent of their shots (26 of 69), while Virginia Union -- who took 13 more shots than the Lady Bears -- hit only 30.5 percent (25 of 82).

The Panthers got the early jump in the game, scoring the first seven points before Warner put in a layup and started what would become a nine-point run.  With 14:42 left in the first, Ashle Freeman got a steal and drove the length of the court to finally put Virginia Union back in the scoring column and tie the score at nine.

The two teams played evenly for the next six minutes, with Shaw clinging to a one- or three-point lead.  With 8:23 left in the first, Freeman hit a layup to give VUU their first lead since the early going, 19-18.

Warner would then score the next four points, giving Shaw back the lead and begin what would be an eight-point run that ended with a VUU three from Cynthia Howard that made the score 26-21, Shaw.

With Shaw leading 31-21, Virginia Union ran off six straight, trimming the Shaw lead to 31-27 before Ariel Hatcher hit a three on the left wing that gave Shaw a 34-27 lead.

Virginia Union closed out the half with a 7-5 run, giving the Lady Bears a 39-34 lead at the half.

The Lady Panthers opened the second much the way they'd closed the first, scoring the first four points to trim the Shaw lead to 39-38, then Carla Cowherd gave them a 40-39 lead with less than two minutes gone in the half.

Micah Brooks responded with put back of a Shaw missed shot, reclaiming the lead for the Lady Bears 41-40.

Both offenses slowed to a crawl  in the ensuing four minutes.  Ariel Hatcher's bucket with 13:30 left gave the Lady Bears a 45-42 lead.

The Lady Panthers then went on a 11-2 run, including three three-point shots before Warner hit a layup to cap the drought and trim the VUU lead to 53-49.

Four minutes later, the Lady Panthers still held a four-point lead, and Hatcher was fouled and sank one of two to trim the VUU lead to three.  It took another three minutes before the next score:  a Hatcher three-pointer that tied the score at 60.

The points were part of an 14-0 run for the Lady Bears that ended when Denesha Tatum hit a bucket for VUU that trimmed the Shaw lead to 68-62 with just under two minutes left in the contest.

Shaw -- fueled by free throws from intentional fouls -- ran off another run -- this one of six points to extend their lead to 12, 74-62.

Virginia Union closed out the game with a 5-4 run, to give Shaw the final 78-67 tally.

Warner had an impressive double-double for the Lady Bears with 25 points and 21 rebounds in the contest.  Jacks added 13, while Brooks, Diamond Mitchell and Hatcher each had 12.  Brooks and Hatcher each had a double-double as well with Brooks pulling in 15 rebounds and Hatcher 11.  Jacks and Mitchell had five assists apiece to lead the Lady Bears.

Freeman finished the night with 27 points, and Melyse Brown had 16.  Brown had nine rebounds and ShaHadah Barret 12 assists to lead Union.

Tonight's game was the first of four straight road games for the Lady Bears.  Shaw continues up I-95 for a matchup against Bowie State Saturday at 2:00 p.m.  The Lady Bears don't return home until 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.