CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- The Virginia State University women's basketball team survived a late rally by Elizabeth City State University and secured a 58-53 victory over the Lady Vikings on Wednesday, February 25th in Time Warner Cable Arena.
The Lady Trojans advance to the semifinal round with the win. Virginia State will face the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal game between Shaw University and Winston-Salem State University. Tip-off for Friday's semifinal game is slated for 3:00pm.
The Lady Trojans advance with an 18-9 overall record while the Lady Vikings' season comes to an end with a 13-14 mark.
All-CIAA team member Tiffanie Adair led all players in the game with 21 points and 13 rebounds (five offensive, eight defensive). All-CIAA honoree Dashae Jones and Jessica Lyons added 13 points and 11 points, respectively in the victory.
Virginia State totaled 44 rebounds in the win while Elizabeth City State grabbed 27 rebounds in the loss. The Lady Vikings had six turnovers in the contest while forcing 17 Virginia State turnovers.
Virginia State head coach James Hill Jr. noted, "Our game plan was to come out hard and slow Breona Jones and Jada Jefferies down. We allowed them to take a lot of open shots against us earlier in the season so today we talked about slowing the game down and being disciplined."
All-CIAA performer Jadda Jefferies paced the Lady Vikings with 15 points in the setback. CIAA Rookie of the Year, Breona Jones chipped in 13 points.
Elizabeth City State interim head coach Ron Woodard stated, "Today's game was a tough loss. We had a tough start in the first half but we weathered the storm in the second half. I though overall we fought hard."
Adair opened the contest with a layup for Virginia State, ending a two-minute scoring drought for both teams. Jefferies answered with a bucket for Elizabeth City State on the Lady Vikings' next possession. Arrielle Harris used a rebound and putback to put the Lady Vikings ahead 4-2 at the 16:27 mark.
After Adair's made free throw put the Lady Trojans within one point, Jefferies' three-pointer pushed Elizabeth City State ahead 7-5. Deanna Water's layup for Virginia State knotted the score but two made free throws by Jones for the Lady Vikings tied the score 9-9 by the first media timeout of the game.
With 13:36 on the clock, a free throw by Jones along with Adair's layup and free throw for Virginia State pushed the Lady Trojans ahead 13-9. Jones responded with a three-pointer for Elizabeth City State but Adair answered with a bucket to make the score 15-12 with 10:42 remaining before halftime.
After Adair's made free throw at the 9:59 mark, both teams exchanged baskets until the 6:10 mark when Jones' three-pointer for Virginia State gave the Lady Trojans a 23-18 advantage. Lyons added a layup to extend the Lady Trojans' lead to seven points by the final media time out of the first half.
Cana Marriott's layup for Virginia State with 2:19 on the clock left the Lady Vikings trailing 31-21 and gave the Lady Trojans their largest advantage of the half. Jones made good on a free throw opportunity with 28 seconds on the clock but Elizabeth City State still trailed 32-23 heading into halftime.
Lyons' layup followed by Marriott's three-pointer solidified Virginia State's lead to 37-23 by the 18:19 mark in the second half. A layup by Lyons with 15:16 on the clock gave the Lady Trojans a 15 point lead (42-27).
Trailing 45-27 with 13:52 left in the game, the Lady Vikings orchestrated an 8-0 run capped by Jefferies' three-pointer to cut the deficit to ten points. Virginia State maintained a 47-37 lead with eight minutes left in the game when two made free throws by Jones for the Lady Vikings followed by an additional free throw by Ashley Hughes put Elizabeth City State back within striking distance with 5:25 left in the contest. Virginia State led by as many as nine points (49-40) with 4:53 on the clock when Chalise Greenwood's three-pointer sparked a 5-0 run and brought Elizabeth City State within four points.
With the Lady Trojans clinging to a 51-47 advantage with 3:12 left in the game, two made free throws by Lyons pushed Virginia State ahead 53-47. Elizabeth City State pulled within three points using Jones' free throw and Jasmine Nixon's layup. The late rally was not enough to overcome Virginia State's momentum as Adair netted two free throws with nine seconds on the clock to secure the 58-53 win for Virginia State.
BOX SCORE
COURTESY CIAA MEDIA RELATIONS
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