ELIZABETH CITY, NC (Dec. 15, 2018) – Elizabeth City State used shutdown defense in the first and third quarters to forge a 69-48 CIAA win over St. Augustine's in the Robert L. Vaughan Center.
 
The Vikings (7-4, CIAA 2-1) won their third game in a row by allowing the Falcons (2-6, CIAA 1-3) just seven points in both the first and third periods to build a 53-37 lead.
 
Junior forward Naterria Luster recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while adding three assists.  Senior guard Jalyn Brown, who tied Luster with a game-high 17 points, continued her torrid shooting from beyond the arc by nailing five of nine tries while adding five rebounds.
 
Junior guard Asia Deal chipped in 10 points and four assists while junior forward Markeia Porter dished out a career-high eight assists to help the Vikings shoot a solid 44.8 per cent (26-58) from the floor.
 
Junior forward Tanisha Wall paced St. Augustine's with 11 points and five steals while senior forward Bianca Igwe netted 10 points and collected four rebounds.  Freshman forward Jordyn Burton hauled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Luster netted four points and Brown knocked down a 3-pointer as ECSU used an 11-0 run during the opening period to seize a 14-5 lead before settling for a 14-7 edge at the end of the quarter.
 
But the Falcons surged to a 30-29 halftime advantage on the strength of a 23-9 rally fueled by Wall with eight points and Igwe with six.
 
After the break, the Viking defense again asserted itself while the offense kicked into gear.  Luster drained back-to-back 3-point jumpers and totaled seven points while Brown and junior forward Devona Stell added five each as ECSU posted 24 points in the third quarter.
 
ECSU hosts Fayetteville State Monday in a CIAA doubleheader in the Vaughan Center.  The women's game tips off at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow at 7:30.  The Falcons are at Chowan Monday for a 5:30 p.m. league battle.