Dillard remains unbeaten in conference with crucial 1-point road victory in Little Rock

COACH NORBERT ROME
HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
DILLARD UNIVERSITY

Little Rock, Arkansas -- The Dillard University Lady Bleu Devils hit a total of 29 free throws and remain undefeated in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference play after a crucial road victory over Philander Smith College by the score of 80-79 at the Dr. Crawford Mims Gymnasium. The win is the first time Dillard head coach Norbert Rome has defeated the Lady Panthers during his stint as head coach.

The Lady Bleu Devils (7-8, 2-0 GCAC) were led by freshman sharpshooter Shaelynn Moore (FR/Houston, Texas) as she finished with 26 points, hitting 8-of-10 shots from the foul line. Her team trailed by one point at the half after an ill-advised foul at the buzzer on Moore which allowed PSC's Juquecia Chaney to shoot three free throws to end the half.

In the third quarter, both teams put up nearly 30 points apiece after only scoring in the teens in previous quarters. As a result, Dillard finally was able to take a 56-53 lead to end the quarter after a wild series of events that resulted in a technical foul on Philander's coach when his shooting guard Brittany Leonard was called for an offensive foul. A total of 20 fouls were called in the thrilling quarter.

The final quarter proved to be just as exciting as both teams exchanged baskets throughout the quarter. The Lady Panthers cut the deficit down to as low as one point with a basket from Leonard until Dillard's Alena Evans (SR/Las Vegas, Nev.) hit a key basket to take a 3-point lead, then Moore buried a 3-pointer after a PSC miss, giving the Lady Bleu Devils a 6-point lead with less than two minutes to play. With 0.3 seconds left to play in the game, and with a 3-point lead, Dillard's Rashida Ademosu (SR/Nashville, Tenn.) fouled PSC's Tamara Heard at the 3-point line. Heard was only able to connect on 2-of-3 shots from the charity stripe as Dillard escaped with the 1-point victory.

Point guard Shantrell Lumar (JR/Baton Rouge, La.) had a sensational game for Dillard as she finished with a season-high 22 points and hit 11-of-13 free throws in the win.

As a team Dillard nailed 29-of-36 free throws (81 percent) while Philander Smith hit 25-of-38 free throws (66 percent). The Lady Bleu Devils produced 11 steals and forced 17 turnovers in the victory.

With the loss, PSC drops to 9-6 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

Dillard returns to action on Saturday, January 16 as they travel 3.7 miles to face Southern University at New Orleans in GCAC action. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.

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