BALTIMORE, MD -- The Shaw women's basketball team went into the half trailing Winston-Salem State by nine points, but rallied from the deficit to beat the Rams 54-48 in the CIAA Tournament quarterfinals at CFG Bank Arena Thursday. The Lady Bears will face top seed and defending CIAA champion Lincoln (Pa.) in the semifinals on Friday at 8 p.m.
The Lady Bears (17-13) had two players score in double figures, led by Brittiney Seymour, who secured a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Tanayja London tacked on 13 points, six rebounds and three steals and Inari Jones added six rebounds and two steals.
Shaw's defense held Winston-Salem State to only 29.8 percent shooting from the field, including 25.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Lady Bears also limited CIAA Player of the Year Amaya Tucker to 2-of-14 shooting and seven points in the game.
How It Happened
Shaw started out the scoring by going on an 8-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Seymour, to take an early lead with 5:24 left in the first quarter. Winston-Salem State then responded to tie things up at 10-10 heading into the second quarter. Shaw did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring 10 of its 10 points close to the basket.
The Rams then took control in the second quarter, leading by as many as 12, and the Lady Bears entered halftime behind 32-23.
After intermission, Shaw cut its deficit to 36-30 before going on a 9-0 run to grab a 39-36 lead with 37 seconds to go in the third period, a score which remained until the end of the period. Shaw knocked down three three-pointers in the quarter to score nine of its 16 total points.
Winston-Salem State proceeded to take a 43-42 lead before Shaw went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Makenzie Pollard's jumper, to seize a 47-43 lead with 3:34 to go in the contest. The Lady Bears kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 54-48 win. Shaw took advantage of seven Winston-Salem State turnovers in the quarter, scoring five points off of those takeaways.
With the Lady Bears leading 50-48, Rita James made a key steal with seven seconds left. Seymour and London each swished two free throws to preserve the big win.
Game Notes
» Brittiney Seymour notched an impressive double-double for the Lady Bears with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
» Shaw rallied from a nine-point 32-23 halftime deficit to pick up the win.
» The Lady Bears held the Rams to only 29.8 percent shooting from the field.
» Brittiney Seymour, Tanayja London, and Alondra Jordan combined to account for 80 percent of the Lady Bears' points.
» The Shaw defense forced 20 turnovers.
» The Lady Bears are making their first semifinal appearance in the CIAA Tournament since 2016.
» Brittiney Seymour was named Food Lion Game MVP for the second time at the CIAA Tournament
Quotes
"Every game we play it is the same thing. We are an inside-out team. If it's me, [Tanayja] London and Inari [Jones], our goal together is to finish inside to make sure we put our team in a great position to win."- Shaw forward Brittiney Seymour
"We felt pretty good going in the locker room only being down by nine. We had given up seven three-pointers in the first half which is very uncharacteristic of this team. They stuck together. They knew they had to battle and make some things happen. They fought through it. Once we got the lead, they brought it home." - Shaw Head Coach Jacques Curtis
"We definitely feel like we deserve to be here. We fight for each other, our coaches, our program, everybody as a whole. We bought in to what our assignment is. We bought in to what we had to do and got the job done." - Shaw forward Tanayja London
"We came in ready. We went into the half down by nine. We didn't get scared or anything like that. We had to come out and fight, and that's what we did." - Shaw guard Makenzie Pollard
Up Next
The Lady Bears play Lincoln (Pa.) in the semifinals on Friday at 8 p.m.
