BALTIMORE, MD -- The Shaw women's basketball team held Elizabeth City State to just 36.4 percent shooting from the field, but fell 55-40 to the Vikings in the CIAA title game at CFG Bank Arena Saturday. The Lady Bears were vying for their 10th conference crown under Head Coach Jacques Curtis.

Inari Jones led the Lady Bears (18-14 overall) with seven points, seven rebounds and four steals. Brittiney Seymour tacked on nine points and six rebounds and Rita James helped out with seven points and two steals.

The Shaw defense was effective at taking away the basketball, forcing 18 Elizabeth City State turnovers while committing 17. Those takeaways turned into 12 points on the offensive end of the floor. Jones' four steals led the way individually for the Lady Bears.

How It Happened

Shaw kept it close in the first quarter, but entered the second frame down 10-6.

The Lady Bears continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 32-16 halftime deficit.

Shaw's deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Lady Bears faced a 45-25 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Shaw took advantage of five Elizabeth City State turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of takeaways.

Shaw narrowed its deficit to 11 points in the fourth quarter, but could not get over the hump, losing 55-40. Shaw took advantage of five Elizabeth City State turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of those takeaways.

Game Notes

» The Lady Bears held the Vikings to only 36.4 percent shooting from the field.
» The Shaw defense forced 18 turnovers.
» Brittiney Seymour led the Lady Bears with nine points.
» Shaw got a team-high seven rebounds from Inari Jones.
» Brittiney Seymour and Tanayja London were named to the CIAA All-Tournament Team.
» The Lady Bears conclude their season as CIAA tourney runner-ups.

Quote
"They got more focused after the Saint Aug game as what we were trying to do. It was probably the best thing that happened to that group. From that point on, we skyrocketed. We dropped one other game in that time - which was Lincoln - in the regular season. As a coach, you knew the numbers might catch up with you. We were trying to get away with playing six people. We had four freshmen on the bench, they just weren't ready for this level right now. For the amount of minutes [the starters] played in this tournament, most of them played 35-37 minutes every night for three nights, it was a tall task to ask and it caught up with us, but I am proud of the way they stepped up from the Saint Aug game to get us in the championship game tonight." - Head Coach Jacques Curtis about his Lady Bears, who were 7-1 in their last eight games before the CIAA Title Game.