FAMU Lady Rattlers Knock Of CSU Eagles 83-80

COURTESY FAMU ATHLETICS

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- FAMU senior guard Jasmine Grice lit up the Al Lawson Center for 36 points en route to her third consecutive game scoring 30 or more points in a game. In the process, she led the Lady Rattlers (12-12, 6-5 MEAC) to an 83-80 win over the Coppin State Lady Eagles (12-11, 9-3 MEAC), in a critical MEAC contest.

"We can't always depend on our big players to grab rebounds, so we implement a team effort to make plays, and we made some solid plays tonight," head coach LeDawn Gibson said. Freshman Kenya Dixon led the Lady Rattlers with eight rebounds, while Taneka Rubin grabbed six. Grice pulled down three rebounds and added four steals to her NCAA Division-I leading total.

Ashle Craig shot 50-percent from the field, going 6-for-12 , carding 21 points for CSU. Kyra Coleman, was just a step behind as she contributed 18 points, while Larrisa Carter scored 14 points. Carter pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds while teammate Tanaysa Henderson pulled down nine.

Tiera Prothro pumped in 17 points, going 8-for-11 from the field, while Rubin scored 11 points to round out the trio of Lady Rattlers scoring in double figures.

CSU rushed out to an 18-point lead in the first half, as the Lady Rattlers withstood the onslaught to settle into a defensive press, forcing the Eagles into 19 turnovers. Coppin State scored 46 points in the first half, but managed just 34 in the second half. The back-and-forth battle saw 10 lead changes and six ties.

Gibson used the depth in her bench to rest her entire starting team in crucial minutes in the first half, leaving them with the energy to make the successful run in the second half. That resulted in the Rattlers collecting 16 second chance points to just 10 for Coppin.

FAMU shot 51.6 percent from the field int he second half to power their comeback, after shooting just 38.7 percent in the first half. CSU shot 50 percent in the first half and just 37.1 precent in the second half. FAMU also took the edge in three-point shots as they went 9-for-16 (56.3 percent), while CSU went 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) for the game.

The Lady Rattlers will face the Lady Hornets of Delaware State on Monday in a 6 p.m. start at the Al Lawson Center.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION