WSSU Lady Rams Give Great Effort in 64-56 Loss to #11 Livingstone

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (7-13, 3-7 CIAA) gave the #11 Livingstone Blue Bears (20-0, 11-0 CIAA) all they could handle in a hard-fought 64-56 loss, Saturday evening. Though the Lady Rams took the loss, the team was never short on fight as they staged a furious second half rally against their only ranked opponent of the season.

After struggling in the first half, the Lady Rams gave a stellar second half effort that saw the team outscore the Blue Bears, 46-36 in the second half. However, the Lady Rams could not overcome their toughest first half of the season as they managed just 10 first half points. As a team, the Lady Rams shot 31.4% from the floor, including shooting 9.5% (two-of-21) in the first half of the game.

WSSU senior forwards Dionna Scott and Jovanah Graham led the way for the team with 12 points each in the game. Redshirt-senior guard Taylar Wells added 12 points off the bench as well. Sophomore forward Jasmine Carter pulled in a team-high eight rebounds as well.

The Lady Rams gave a great effort in the early going of the game when a Graham jumper at the 14:25 mark, left the Lady Rams within one point of the Blue Bears, 6-5. However, the jumper marked the last field goal of the half for the Lady Rams. For the remainder of the half, the Lady Rams managed just five more points in the half, all from free throws and took a 28-10 deficit into the locker room at halftime.

The second half turned out to be a much different story as the Lady Rams clawed their way back into the game with a great offensive showing. For the half, the Lady Rams shot 46.7% (14-of-30) from the floor in the half. The Lady Rams kicked things off with an 11-4 run that included a three-point barrage from Edwards and Wells. Edwards hit a pair of three-pointers while Wells added one of her own during the run. The effort cut the WSSU deficit down to just 12 points, 33-21 with 16:15 left.

The Lady Rams were able to get their deficit down to single digits when junior forward Jeri Craine hit a lay-up at the 10:39 mark that pulled the Lady Rams within striking distance, 42-34 with 10:39 left. The lay-up capped an 11-6 run by the Lady Rams. Things got really interesting for the Lady Rams when sophomore center Sha'Quira Palmer hit a jumper at the 8:26 mark that pulled the Lady Rams within four points, 42-38 with 7:48 left to play. Unfortunately, the effort turned out to be a last stand for the Lady Rams as the team allowed Livingstone to push its lead back to double-digits after a 10-2 run by the Lady Rams that left the team trailing, 54-40 with 3:49 left to play. The Lady Rams made their last stand in the final minutes of the game when Edwards' fourth three-pointer of the game pulled the team within six points, 60-54 with 00:48 left to play. However, the connected on four free throws and held the Lady Rams to just one lay-up for the remainder of the game to seal the tough loss.

The loss marked the Lady Rams' first loss to Livingstone since 2007. After the tough loss, the Lady Rams won't have long to relax as they will return to the road for their next action as they take on the Virginia Union Lady Panthers in Richmond, Va. For more information on Lady Rams basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.

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