WSSU Ram Ramblings: That Division I thing is a distant memory

DURHAM, North Carolina – I didn’t hear any complaints from Winston-Salem State fans about that failed move to Division I. From the looks of how much fun approximately 8,000 Rams’ fan were having at the CIAA championship game on Saturday Division I was probably the furthest thing from their minds.

The Rams, who are two years into their transition back to Division II, won the school’s ninth CIAA title by dispatching Elizabeth City State 38-18 in front of around 10,000 fans. WSSU fans were all over the place, including about 200 who watched from a hill outside of the stadium. (It was cheaper to watch from there.)

There was plenty of controversy in September of 2009 when chancellor Donald Reaves and the board of trustees pulled the plug on the move to Division I and the MEAC for financial reasons.

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Elizabeth City State Marching Band and the Winston-Salem State University Marching Band "Red Sea of Sound" performs at halftime of the 2011 CIAA Football Championship game on November 12, 2011.

NCAA Division II National Championship: SHAW UNIVERSITY LADY BEARS WINS! IN FINAL FOUR

Shaw University Lady Bears (25-11) defeated Metro State College Roadrunners (28-5), 46-45 with a last second layup by 5-6 junior guard Brittany Ransom. The Lady Bears rebounded and drove the length of the court in 6.4 seconds to earn the FINAL FOUR berth.

This will be the first Final Four in Shaw University history. Talk about March Madness--Shaw got the winning fever with her 11th straight win.

The Lady Bears will face Number 2 ranked Clayton State University Lakers (33-1) from Morrow, Georgia (Metro Atlanta) in the semi-finals.  Clayton State defeated 15th ranked Bentley University Lady Falcons, 84-61 in the Elite Eight

The Final Four game is scheduled at 7 p.m. ET, tomorrow (March 23) at the Civic Arena at St. Joseph, Missouri.  Both final four games will be televised by ESPNU HD and ESPN3.com (Internet).

Here's what we know about Clayton State...

Dennis Cox, head coach at Clayton State University, is the 2011 Russell Athletic/WBCA National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Coach of the Year, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, which was announced today.

With a record of 181-45 at Clayton State and a winning percentage of .801, Cox is the second-winningest active women’s head coach at the Division II level. The Lakers are members of the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) and went undefeated in league play this season. The top women's teams in the PBC are:  Clayton State, Georgia College, Lander, USC Aiken and Francis Marion.

This will be the Lakers seventh visit to the National Tournament and second Final Four (2007, 2011).

How will they match up with the Lady Bears...

33-1 says it all with speed, balance scoring, experience and depth. This will be a battle of contrasting styles with the Lady Bears holding the advantage of size and rebounding. But the Lakers can shoot with accuracy.

The Lady Bears will have to improve their defense and shooting in this game and not get into a run and shoot affair with the Lakers. The Lady Bears are now on an 11 game win streak and have the weapons to pull out another win to get to the National Championship Game.

More Updates Coming Later...

By beepbeep

NCAA Division II National Championship: Shaw women thriving

Shaw University Lady Bears Coach Jacques Curtis
Career Record: 234-103

  RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jacques Curtis knows what he's saying, even if to you it comes off as brash or cocky or arrogant.

The Shaw women's basketball coach has never run from those labels and has had plenty of success to back up his talk, guiding the Bears to six Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships and five NCAA Division II tournament appearances over the past 11 seasons.

So he continues to talk, and this time it's before his team faces Metro State (30-2) today in the Division II round of eight in St. Joseph, Mo. The Bears make their third trip to the quarterfinals and are searching for the program's first trip to the Final Four.

"If we get to the national championship game, it's over," Curtis said. "To me, it's like the CIAA championship and the regional, we don't get there and lose. Anytime we get to a championship game, it's a wrap."

Bracket

Listen to Game via Internet: (Tuesday, March 22, 2011) At 3:30 pm EDT - Shaw University WSHA- FM 88.9 - CLICK HERE

Quarterfinals - Tuesday, March 22 Video at NCAA.com
12 p.m. (CDT) Bentley vs. Clayton State
3:30 p.m. (EDT) Metro State vs. Shaw Lady Bears -- CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO GAME (then click on Shaw vs. Metro State; Click on Speaker symbol next to Shaw Bears logo)
6 p.m. (CDT) Arkansas Tech vs. Michigan Tech
8:30 p.m. (CDT) Northwest Missouri State vs. Cal Poly Pomona

Women's Basketball Stomps Adams State in Second Half to Advance to Elite Eight

DURANGO, Colo. – No. 10 Metro State held Adams State to just four field goals over the final 30 minutes and rally from a 14-point deficit to win 49-36 on Monday night in Durango, Colo., to win the NCAA Division II Central Region championship and advance to the Elite Eight. The Roadrunners improved to 30-2 this season, while ASC’s season ended at 23-10. It is the first 30-win season in school history.

Kristin Valencia had 10 rebounds and five points. Metro State endured a miserable first half, shooting just 19.4 percent and getting outrebounded 26-23. It was all Adams State in the first 10 minutes as ASC held a 20-6 lead with 10:51 left in the half. However, that was the final field goal for the Grizzlies in the first half as the Roadrunners closed on a 15-4 run with all of ASC’s points coming on free throws in the final 10 minutes. Adams State missed its final 17 field goal attempts in the first half.

Box Score

Metro's Bratton takes long route to national quarterfinals

The next thing she knew, Colorado women's basketball legend Tanya Haave, who was familiar with Bratton from when they crossed paths at the University of Denver, was hired as head coach at Metro State. After that, everything seemed to fall into place.

Bratton, 25, returned to the court after sitting out two seasons and will cap her career this week when she leads Metro State into its first appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The Roadrunners (30-2) will take on Shaw, N.C. (24-11) in the quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. today in St. Joseph, Mo. The winner plays in the semifinals Wednesday. The national championship game is Friday night.

"I was done. I was just happy working and going to school part-time," said Bratton, a 5-foot-10 forward and a graduate of Pomona High School.

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