RALEIGH, NC --Leasia Matthews and D'Ayzha Atkinson combined to score 36 total points, but the Lady Bears fell to the #25 ranked Winston-Salem State University Rams 64-54 at home Saturday.

Matthews led the Lady Bears (6-9, 4-4) with 19 points and three steals. Atkinson added 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals and Ashara Spruill helped out a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Led by Atkinson's seven offensive rebounds, Shaw did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 21 boards that resulted in seven second chance points.

Shaw forced 19 Winston-Salem turnovers. The Lady Bears turned those takeaways into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Matthews' three steals led the way for Shaw.

How It Happened

Shaw struggled out of the gate, falling behind 12-5 at the end of the first quarter.

Winston-Salem kept adding to that lead, building a 19-9 advantage before Shaw went on an 11-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Spruill, to take a 20-19 lead. The Rams then came roaring back to take a 30-21 lead heading into halftime.

Winston-Salem continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 41-28 advantage before Shaw went on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a three from Matthews, to trim its deficit to 41-35 with 2:43 to go in the third. Winston-Salem countered and stretched its lead to 47-38 heading into the fourth. Shaw took advantage of five Winston-Salem turnovers in the quarter, scoring five points off of takeaways.

Winston-Salem kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 62-49 advantage before Shaw went on a 5-0 run to shrink the deficit to 62-54 with 34 seconds to go in the contest. Winston-Salem responded and outscored the Lady Bears the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 64-54. Shaw took advantage of four Winston-Salem turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of those takeaways.

Game Notes

» Ashara Spruill notched a double-double for the Lady Bears with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
» The Lady Bears held the Rams to only 34.8 percent shooting from the field.
» Leasia Matthews, D'Ayzha Atkinson, and Ashara Spruill combined to account for 87 percent of the Lady Bears points.
» Mahogany Collins contributed on the defensive end with eight blocks in the contest.
» Shaw lost despite a 48-36 rebounding advantage.
» The Lady Bears were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording nine blocks as a team.
» Shaw cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 21 offensive boards in the game.
» Leasia Matthews led the Lady Bears with 19 points.
» Mahogany Collins and Ashara Spruill led Shaw with a game-high 10 rebounds each.

Up Next
Shaw heads to Charlotte, NC to face the JCSU Golden Bulls January 21st, Tipoff is slated for 5:30 PM.