RALEIGH, N.C. – The Shaw University women's basketball team held a double-digit lead late in the second half, but Winston-Salem State cut that lead to one before the Lady Bears hit two critical three pointers and held on for a 68-59 win in a game played at the C.E. Gaines Center Monday night.

The win gives the Lady Bears a 16-8 overall mark, 10-4 in the CIAA and 6-2 in the conference's Southern Division.  Winston-Salem State falls to 13-11, 7-7 in the conference and 3-5 in the division.

Winston-Salem State got back into the game on the back of Shaw's struggles from the free throw line.  As WSSU went from an eight-point deficit to a three-point disadvantage, Shaw missed four of six free throws. 

The Lady Bears hit 52.9 percent of their free throws, but made up with it from hot shooting elsewhere.  The Lady Bears sank 60 percent of their field goals -- 71.4 percent from the three-point line.

Winston-Salem State hit only 35.7 percent of their shots and only seven of their 25 attempts from beyond the arc.  They did hit 12 of 17 from the free throw line (70.6 percent). 

Shaw held an advantage on the boards, pulling in 35 rebounds versus 24 from the Lady Rams.  Neither team handled the ball particularly well, with WSSU committing 16 turnovers and Shaw 23.

The first five minutes of the game were even, with the score tied at seven-all at the 15:39 mark.  Shaw scored nine of the next 11 points, building a 16-9 lead when Verdine Warner hit a layup with 12:24 left in the half.

Five minutes later, WSSU had cut the Shaw lead to four, but the Lady Bears responded with ten straight points, including back-to-back steals and fastbreak layups from Diamond Mitchell that made it 29-15 with 4:45 left in the half.

With Shaw up by 12, the Lady Rams closed the half on an 8-2 run that cut the Shaw lead to six, 35-29, at the half.

After Shaw built the lead to eight, WSSU scored five straight, cutting the lead to three after a three-point play from Jasmine Elum. 

The lead hovered around four points for two minutes, then Shaw scored nine straight, punctuated by a three from Ariel Hatcher. 

Midway through the second, the Lady Bears still held a ten-point lead, but the Lady Rams roared back into the game, scoring five straight and nine of the next ten to cut the lead to only two at 56-54 with 5:40 left.

Nearly two minutes  -- and four missed free throws -- later, a pair of Dionna Scott free throws cut the Shaw lead to only one, 57-56.

Shaw scored the next ten points, including two threes from Hatcher, to reclaim a double-digit lead, which they held until the final seconds of the game, when Morgan Smiley hit a late bucket to set the final score at 68-59.

Hatcher finished the night with 16 points and was one of four Lady Bears scoring in double digits.  Warner and Kaula Jacks had 14 each and Mitchell scored 11.  Hatcher's seven rebounds and Jacks' five assists led Shaw.

Elum led the Lady Rams with 19 points, while Raven Fields had 15.  Amanda Hairston and Jovonah Graham had four assists apiece to pace WSSU.

Shaw returns home for Senior Night Wednesday, when they host Fayetteville State in a 6:00 tip.  They will close out regular season play on Saturday when they travel to Johnson C. Smith for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.