Shaw women fall in national semifinal 63-46

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Shaw missed shots in every form. There were blown layups, wayward 3-point attempts, misfired jump shots and errant free throws in the first half of Wednesday's night's Division II national semifinal against Clayton State. Despite a poor early offensive showing, the underdog Bears made a run at keeping its amazing streak alive.

Shaw's season ended with a 63-46 loss to Clayton State at St. Joseph Civic Arena, ending an 11-game winning streak. The eighth seed of the Atlantic Region's drive for an unlikely national championship finally ran out of gas.

Clayton State Ends Shaw's Cinderella NCAA Run

Saint Joseph, MO - They never wore glass slippers - more like well-worn steel-toed work boots - but Shaw remained the Cinderella of this year's NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament until Clayton State knocked them out of the dance by beating the Lady Bears 63-46 in the national semi-final.

Shaw was hamstrung by poor shooting and a plague of turnovers, often when trying to push the ball inside.

"We didn't play well tonight," said Shaw Head Coach Jacques Curtis. "Some of that had to do with them and some of that had to do with us. Every time we had a chance to make a run, we would have a turnover or something that just kept letting it get away.

"When we took the lead by one, we thought we had something," he continued. "But we let it get away."

The Lady Bears took a lead with 15:58 left in the game when Demaria Liles drained two free throws to give Shaw a 34-33 lead.

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Late basket lifts Shaw women to semifinals

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Brittney Spencer's pass didn't look like it would reach the intended target. Without the junior guard's vision, Shaw's women's team likely would have seen its storybook season come crashing down. Spencer hit Brittany Ransom with a pass that eluded the fingertips of two Metro State defenders in the closing seconds of Tuesday afternoon's Division II national quarterfinal at St. Joseph Civic Arena.

Ransom's spinning layup bounced off the glass and caromed around the rim and down as time expired to give the Bears a 46-45 win.

The Spencer-Ransom connection provided a thrilling end to a game in which both teams shot just a shade over 30 percent. The hero proved to be a reserve guard who averages only 6.8 points per game.

Metro State loses at buzzer in women's Elite Eight

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Brittany Ransom's layup at the buzzer knocked Metro State out of the women's basketball NCAA Division II Elite Eight on Tuesday. The Roadrunners lost 46-45 to Shaw (N.C.) University. Their season ended at 30-3, while Shaw improved to 24-11.

"I knew the ball was coming," Ransom, who scored a game-high 13 points, told the The (Charlotte) News & Observer. "I didn't know how much time was left, but I had to make the basket somehow." Metro State, which led virtually the entire game, held a four-point lead with 19 seconds left after Jasmine Cervantes made 1-of-2 free throws for the Roadrunners.

But Kyria Buford, who was 2- for-17 from the field in the game, made a 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds remaining to cut Metro State's lead to 45-44.

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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...

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