CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Nyasia Davis came off the bench to post a double-double and Elizabeth City State canned free throws down the stretch to hold off Saint Augustine's 70-65 in a CIAA Tournament women's basketball first-round game at Bojangles' Coliseum on Tuesday.
Davis collected 10 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for the Vikings, who take on Southern Division top seed Fayetteville State in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday at 2:20 p.m. The Vikings (12-17 overall) are the No. 4 seed in the Northern Division.
All-CIAA player
Asia Deal sparked the Vikings with 19 points and CIAA Rookie of the Year Nyasia Blango added 16 points on 4 of 6 three-point shooting. All-CIAA player
Devona Stell was held to four points as she battled foul trouble, but Davis picked up the slack inside.
Angel James chipped in 13 points for the Vikings, who led much of the game and was ahead 55-44 with eight minutes left in the fourth period.
The Lady Falcons, the No. 5 Southern Division seed, climbed back in the fourth period to make the contest interesting. They pulled within 59-57 with 1:30 remaining on two free throws by Kamya Renwicks (Sr./Baltimore, MD). The Vikings maintained their lead at the charity stripe as they connected on 13 of 16 free throws in the final period. Deal was 9 of 10 including 3 of 4 in the final 24.5 seconds to preserve the win. James was 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the fourth period.
All-CIAA selection Kaaliya Williams (Sr./Richmond, VA) finished with 14 points and nine rebounds and Angela Caraballo (Sr./Richmond, VA) added 14 points for the Lady Falcons, who stayed in the contest despite shooting 27.3 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from the free throw line. They were 5 of 29 behind the three-point line for 17.2 percent.
The Lady Falcons (10-19 overall) won nearly other category, however. They claimed the rebounding battle 59-42, including a 33-8 advantage in offensive rebounds, to outscore the Vikings 22-7 in second chance points. They also outscored the Vikings in inside points (26-14) and turnover points (17-13) after forcing 26 ECSU turnovers.
The Vikings swept the season series against the Lady Falcons. ECSU won both regular season games by scores of 91-81 in double overtime in Raleigh, N.C., and 80-64 in Elizabeth City, N.C.
