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| Shaw University Women's Head Coach Jacques Curtis |
CIAA South rival Shaw beat the Golden Bulls 74-54 Monday in the Atlantic Regional Championship in Edinboro Pa. JCSU ends the season 26-5, the most wins in a single season in school history. The previous best was a 22-5 mark in 2009.
“We’ve had a good season, even though it didn’t end the way we would have liked,” said CIAA Coach of the Year Vanessa Taylor, who led the Golden Bulls to a pair of tournament wins – the first in six regional appearances. “Sometimes you give your best and it isn’t good enough, but we have certainly learned more from this experience and will apply these lessons as we prepare for next season.”
No. 8 seed Shaw upsets Johnson C. Smith in D-II regional
EDINBORO, PA -- Eighth-seeded Shaw University, led by D-I transfers Kyria Buford and Demaria Liles, ran away from CIAA rival and second-seeded Johnson C. Smith for a 74-54 victory Monday to win the Division II Atlantic Regional at McComb Fieldhouse in front of 93 fans.
The Bears (24-11), the CIAA tournament winner, advanced to the Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo., March 22-25. The Golden Bulls finished 26-5.
The 6-foot 1-inch Buford, a junior forward who played one season at Florida State, had 24 points and five assists, and MVP Liles, a 6-foot 1-inch senior forward who played at Maryland for one season, had 17 points and 14 rebounds. The Bears were 13-1 after Liles joined the team.
"Demaria took so much pressure off of me when she became eligible,'' Buford said.
Lady Bears Earn Berth in D-II Elite Eight With Win Over JCSU
Edinboro, PA - It was a drama in three acts - a game that was the fourth in a series, but had the highest stakes: a trip to the NCAA Division II Women's Elite Eight Tournament.
In the end, Shaw claimed the first and third act - and the win - downing CIAA rival Johnson C. Smith 74-54 to earn the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Title and a spot in the Elite Eight.
It was the fourth time the two teams had met this season. Johnson C. Smith (26-5) won the two regular season contests while Shaw (24-11) claimed the two post-season contests: the CIAA Championship and tonight's game, held at McCombs Field House on the campus of Edinboro University.
Shaw broke on top early, fought off a furious charge from the Lady Golden Bulls, and then built an increasing lead as the game ended.
"Smith changed their style today," said Shaw Head Coach Jacques Curtis. "They were running the ball, but today they basically took the air out of the ball. We weren't playing well at all."
Shaw's transfers too advanced for Edinboro women
EDINBORO, PA -- There are Division I players transferring to Division II schools all the time, but many of them saw little playing time or didn't fit and did not want to sit out the year necessary to play for another D-I school.
Then there's Shaw University's pair of Demaria Liles, who spent one full season starting on Maryland's Elite Eight team in 2008-09, and Kyria Buford, who played at Florida State as a freshman in 2005-06. Buford was homesick and first transferred to Johnson C. Smith, Shaw's rival and opponent at Edinboro's McComb Fieldhouse on Monday night.
CIAA schools had done little in the Atlantic Regional, to which the conference was moved before the 2008-09 season. They were a non-factor when host California (Pa.) won in 2009 and when Gannon captured the regional in 2010. Edinboro, which had a magnificent season (26-4) and was top seed and host of the Atlantic Regional, was a victim of bad luck.
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