Tuesday, January 14, 2014

FAMU Lady Rattlers Defeat NC A&T 55-51 In Big Comeback

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- The Florida A&M Lady Rattlers (8-9, 1-1 MEAC) used a strong offensive performance in the second half to defeat the Lady Aggies of North Carolina A&T (11-3, 1-1 MEAC), 55-51, here today at the Al Lawson Center on the campus of Florida A&M University.

The tale of the second half was free throws and tenacity as the Lady Rattlers clawed their way back into the game after being down by as many as eight points in the second half.  The Lady Rattlers converted 15-of-17 from the free throw line, an 88.2 percent clip, while the Aggies went only 9-of-19 in the same period.

Head coach LeDawn Gibson was pleased with her team’s bounce back after dropping a heartbreaker to NCCU on Saturday.  “We had a practice yesterday that was more like a talk.  We needed to work out some things mentally and we converted that into a win.  We saw the results of that today as the ladies never gave up,” Gibson said.



Jasmine Grice led the Lady Rattlers in scoring with 24 points on 7-for-20 shooting, including 3-of-6 from the three-point line.  Taneka Rubin would be the only other Lady Rattler in double figures, as she scored 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line.  Tierra Prothro and Ann Marie Harris each grabbed five rebounds to lead the way for FAMU.

Debbie Smith paced the Lady Aggies with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field.  Ariel Bursey chipped in eight points, shooting 3-of-6 from the field and 1-of-2 from the three-point line.  Eboni Ross pulled down a game high seven rebounds.  The Aggies were not very protective of the ball, making 26 turnovers in the game, including two crucial ones down the stretch.

The back and forth game saw 11 ties and eight lead changes.  The Lady Aggies went on a drought for the final 1:15 of the game, relinquishing the lead during that time.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

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