Bethune-Cookman Defense Too Much for Lady Rams, WSSU Takes 66-39 Loss

March 3, 2008

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (2-25) found points hard to come by in a 66-39 loss to the Bethune-Cookman Lady Wildcats (6-22), Monday evening. The Lady Rams suffered through one of their toughest shooting performances of the season with just 12 field goals for the contest and shooting 22.2% from the field in the loss. The Lady Rams headed into the game with their only chance for a season sweep and kept the team winless on the road since last February's win over Morgan State.

The team's shooting struggles nullified a strong rebounding effort for the Lady Rams as the team tied their opponents in rebounding, including pulling in 20 offensive rebounds as a team, setting a season-high. The first half was especially tough for the Lady Rams as the team totaled just 10 first half points, tying a season-low. The first half has been a struggle for the Lady Rams lately with the team combining for 21 first half points in their last two game.s WSSU freshmen Jalesa Byrd and Nikki Kee led the WSSU offensive effort with nine points each in the loss. WSSU freshman forward Vontisha Woods added a team-high 14 rebounds.

The Lady Rams found themselves in trouble early in the game with Bethune-Cookman jumping out to a 9-2 lead. A Byrd lay-up was the only WSSU score of the first seven minutes of play. WSSU freshman guard Rene Rector would hit a free throw with 12:02 left to break the drought, but by then, the team had fallen behind, 9-3. WSSU freshman forward Vontisha Woods would spark things for the Lady Rams with a jumper that tipped off a 6-0 WSSU run that would pull the Lady Rams to within one point, 11-10 with 9:26 left to play and forcing a B-CU timeout. The Lady Rams' offense would completely shut down for the remainder of the half as the team was held scoreless for the final nine minutes of play, while Bethune-Cookman rattled off 18 unanswered points, including forcing a steal and lay-up at the buzzer that left the Lady Rams trailing, 28-10 at the half.

The Lady Rams were able to break out of their scoring slump in the second half, but were never able to slow down the Lady Wildcats squad that had found its stride. The Lady Rams nearly tripled their offensive output from the first half scoring 29 second half points in the second half. A lay-up and free throw by WSSU freshman center Nora Campbell with 9:27 left to play would cut the Lady Rams' deficit down to its lowest point for the rest of the game, 19 points, 45-26. The final stretch of the half would see the two teams continue to battle, but the Lady Rams would get no closer than 20 points in the final minutes of play and end the evening with the 66-39 loss.

With the loss, the Lady Rams fall to 2-25 overall this season and 0-12 in road games. The squad is also currently 2-15 against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Lady Rams will wrap up the 2007-08 season in Orangeburg, SC, Thursday evening when they face the South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs.

Women's Basketball