Feb. 25, 2014
Final Stats
CHARLOTTE, NC- The St. Augustine's University Lady Falcons powered past the Lady Vikings of Elizabeth City State 57-48 in the first round of competition at the CIAA Tournament on Tuesday morning.
"Today's game was really, really tough. Elizabeth City State is a good team. I don't think their record reflects the quality of team that they are. I'm really proud of our effort. We made a lot of mistakes but we didn't fold...Tomorrow is going to be tough but we will have an advantage because we've been here before," stated St. Augustine's University head coach Rachel Bullard.
Jeanne-Marie Wilson led all players in the contest with 12 points in the win for St. Augustine's. Victoria Davis chipped in 11 points to aid the effort while Kaleisha Moore hauled in a team-high six rebounds (two offensive, six defensive).
The Lady Vikings were paced by DaShera Boone with 10 points in the loss followed by nine points by Tyche' Mozie. Chelsey Davis grabbed a game-high nine rebounds (three offensive, six defensive).
Elizabeth City State head coach Alico Dunk noted, "Today was a hard fought game. For the most part, our kids played their hearts out. St. Augustine's made some extra plays and this game that we didn't. We just came up short...and I feel that this has been the story of our season."
Wilson opened the game with a jumper for St. Augustine's. Victoria Davis followed with a jumper to give the Lady Falcons a 4-0 advantage. Elizabeth City State responded with a Davis jump shot and Jadda Jeffries three-pointer to earn a 5-4 lead at the 16:23 mark.
The teams exchanged baskets over the next two minutes of play before a layup by Moore allowed the Lady Falcons to take a 10-7 advantage heading into the first media time out of the contest. Moore followed up with a jumper to build St. Augustine's lead to 12-7 with 11:50 left in the half. Down but not out, the Lady Vikings responded with a 7-2 run to knot the score 14-14 with just 7:07 remaining before halftime.
With the score tied 17-17, Tyche' Mozie netted two free throws and Ya'Shonti Bridgers capitalized on a free throw opportunity for the Lady Vikings to push the score to 19-17 in favor of Elizabeth City State.
The momentum shifted for St. Augustine's with 1:48 on the clock as the Lady Falcons closed out the half with an 8-0 run giving them a 25-19 lead heading into halftime.
The Lady Vikings fought back with a vengeance after halftime. Trailing 29-23 with 18:36 on the clock, Mariah Powell drained a three-pointer to put Elizabeth City within striking distance. Buckets by Bridgers and Mozie returned the lead to the Lady Vikings and made the score 30-29.
Lakiya Rouse put St. Augustine's back on the board with a jump shot at the 16:35 mark. Powell responded with another trey for the Lady Vikings on the next possession and Boone followed with a layup, giving Elizabeth City State a narrow 33-31 edge with 16:11 left to play.
Both teams battled for control over the next four minutes of play. With the Lady Vikings leading 39-35, a jump shot by Wilson for St. Augustine's sparked a 12-0 run for the Lady Falcons and left Elizabeth City State trailing 47-39 with 5:53 remaining in the game.
A jumper by Nixon finally ended the scoring drought for the Lady Vikings at the 4:51 mark but it proved to be too little too late as St. Augustine's held on to the momentum for the remainder of the contest and clinched the 57-48 first round win.
The Lady Vikings end their season with a 7-19 record while the Lady Falcons survive and advance with a 13-12 mark. They face will face Virginia State University, the top seed from the Northern Division on Wednesday at 5:00pm.
