ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (Jan. 30, 2019) – League-leading Virginia Union took advantage of turnovers and icy shooting by Elizabeth City State during the opening half to post a 74-58 CIAA win in the Robert L. Vaughan Center.
 
The Panthers (18-1, CIAA 9-1, North Div. 4-0) assured their 10^th straight win with an 18-0 rally over the final seven minutes of the opening quarter to surge into a 22-5 lead.  With the Vikings (13-9, CIAA 5-6, North Div. 2-2) connecting on just six of 33 field goals and two of 12 free throws during the opening half, Virginia Union expanded its lead to 43-15 at the half by turning a dozen ECSU turnovers into 22 points.
 
The Vikings outscored the visitors, 43-31, in the second half but they could get no closer than 15 points in the final minutes of play.
 
Junior forward Naterria Luster posted her 11^th double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds for ECSU while senior guard Jalyn Brown paced the Vikings in scoring with 14 points while adding seven rebounds.  Junior forward Devona Stell tallied nine points and eight rebounds while junior guard DeNayia Holmes had a team-high seven assists to go along with six points and six rebounds.
 
Panther freshman forward Ifunanya Okoye poured in a career-high 32 points while connecting on 15 of 19 shots from the floor and recorded her fifth double-double with a team-high 12 rebounds.  Okoye netted eight of her 17 first-half points during the 18-0 run while sophomore guard Shameka McNeill chipped in 11 of her 16 points during the first 20 minutes.
 
Virginia Union also got 12 points from senior center Nicole Floyd and eight points and 10 rebounds from senior center Jasmine Carter.  Floyd and Carter had four blocked shots apiece.  Senior guard Rejoice Spivey dished off seven assists.
 
ECSU is at Bowie State on Saturday for a CIAA women's and men's doubleheader.  The women's game tips off at 2 p.m. with the Viking and Bulldog men starting at 4 o'clock.