RALEIGH, NC --D'Ayzha Atkinson scored 20 points and Ashara Spruill had 12 more, but the Lady Bears fell to the Claflin Panthers 66-44 at home Wednesday.

Atkinson led the Lady Bears (7-11, 5-6) with 20 points, six rebounds and three steals. Spruill tacked on 12 points off of the bench and Mikyah Finley helped out with four points, six assists and six steals off of the bench.

Atkinson pulled down four offensive rebounds to pace an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Shaw, grabbing 16 boards and turning them into 12 second chance points.

Shaw did a great job disrupting Claflin shots in the contest, coming away with six blocks. Mahogany Collins' five rejections led the way individually for the Lady Bears.

How It Happened

Shaw struggled out of the gate, falling behind 21-5 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bears continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 34-8 halftime deficit.

Claflin continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 49-18 advantage before Shaw went on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Jazzmen Robinson, to trim its deficit to 49-24 with 2:45 to go in the third. The Lady Bears continued to reduce the Claflin lead, shrinking it to 53-30 by the end of the third quarter. Shaw took advantage of seven Claflin turnovers in the quarter, scoring six points off of takeaways.

Shaw came out of the third quarter break clicking on all cylinders, going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Finley's three, to shrink the deficit to 53-38 with 7:55 to go in the contest. Claflin responded and outscored the Lady Bears the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 66-44. Shaw took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring eight of its 14 points in the paint.

Game Notes

» The Lady Bears shared the ball well, recording an assist on 62 percent of made field goals.
» D'Ayzha Atkinson, Ashara Spruill, and Mikyah Finley combined to account for 82 percent of the Bears points.
» The Shaw bench made an impact by scoring 18 points to its scoring output.
» The Shaw defense forced 26 turnovers.
» The Lady Bears were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying six blocks as a team.
» Shaw cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 16 offensive boards in the game.
» Shaw got a team-high nine rebounds from Sokhna Toure.

Up Next
Shaw hits the road for a rematch with the Panthers Saturday, February 7. Tipoff is slated for 2 PM in Orangeburg, SC.