Salisbury, NC --The Shaw women's basketball team got a 23-point performance from the bench, but fell 61-43 to the Livingstone Blue Bears on the road Thursday.
The Lady Bears (8-13) had two players score in double figures, led by D'Ayzha Atkinson, who had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Mikyah Finley tacked on 11 points and two steals from the bench and Jaelyn Richardson added two points and seven rebounds.
Atkinson pulled down seven offensive rebounds to pace an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Shaw, grabbing 18 boards and turning them into one second chance points.
Shaw forced 15 Livingstone turnovers. The Lady Bears turned those takeaways into 10 points on the other end of the floor. Finley's two steals led the way for Shaw.
How It Happened
Shaw struggled out of the gate, falling behind 16-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Livingstone kept adding to that lead, building a 24-12 advantage before Shaw went on a 5-0 run to narrow its deficit to 24-17. The Lady Bears continued to chip away, reducing the Livingstone lead to 29-23 heading into the break.
Shaw's deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Lady Bears faced a 42-32 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Shaw's bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled five of the team's nine third-quarter points.
Shaw could not pull any closer in the fourth, losing by a final of 61-43.
Game Notes
» D'Ayzha Atkinson notched a double-double for the Bears with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
» The Lady Bears held the Blue Bears to only 33.8 percent shooting from the field.
» Shaw shared the ball well, recording an assist on 69 percent of made field goals.
» The Shaw defense forced 15 turnovers.
» The Bears were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying six blocks as a team.
» Shaw cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 18 offensive boards in the game.
» D'Ayzha Atkinson and Mikyah Finley led the Bears with 11 points each.
» Shaw got a team-high 11 rebounds from D'Ayzha Atkinson.
Up Next
The Lady Bears close out the regular season at home Saturday February 20 as they host the Fayetteville State University Broncos on Senior Day. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 PM with the senior day ceremony to follow the contest.
