DAYTONA
BEACH, Florida – The Lady Wildcats
continued a great start at home on Friday, battling it out with Florida Atlantic
for the 71-61 win in historic Richard V. Moore Gymnasium. It was an all-around
performance from the team, which executed the game plan perfectly, as
Bethune-Cookman held off several Owls charges in the second
half.
The Lady Wildcats (2-1) trailed early, as the tough
FAU (1-1) zone press forced B-CU into early turnovers, converted to points by
the Owls. B-CU began attacking the press, which presented the opportunity to
spread the defense. The Lady Wildcats took the lead for the last time with 3:24
on the clock in the first half, carrying a 30-25 lead into the
half.
“What we did was get the ball out of our point guard’s
hand and let our four players, Sharnese [Neal] and Terrenisha [Hollis] bring the
ball up against another four player and just look to attack,” Head Coach Vanessa Blair said. “That’s really how we
were able to break it open.”
As the offense turned it on, B-CU stepped up on the
defensive end at the same time and protected the basket with extensive pressure
before settling into a zone to keep the taller FAU forwards out of the game, and
limiting the Owls to just 18 points in the paint all night.
B-CU began to pull away just before the midpoint of
the second half, aided by an 8-2 run, but the Owls came storming back as the
game wound down, narrowing the B-CU lead to one with just over five minutes to
play. A tough night from the free throw line (51.7 percent on the night) granted
an opening for FAU, but hustle on the offensive glass put the Lady Wildcats in
position to rebuild their lead. B-CU scored 14 on second-chance opportunities
against the Owls in tonight’s contest.
Despite free throw woes throughout, the Lady Wildcats
locked in at the charity stripe when it counted, hitting five-of-six in the
final two minutes to secure the win over the Sun Belt Conference foe which
defeated B-CU twice in 2011-12.
“To get [to the free throw line] almost 30 times
tonight and not do better, that’s something that we definitely have to work on,
but down the stretch they stepped up, and they connected,” Blair
said.
Hairston collected her 14 on 70 percent shooting,
while also grabbing seven rebounds to co-lead the team (with Sharnese Neal), a career-high five blocks,
three steals and an assist. In fact, the only category she didn’t log a stat in
was turnovers.
Hollis also finished with six rebounds, five on the
defensive glass, along with a pair of steals, shooting 6-of-11 from the
floor.
“Tonight I just showed up for my team,” Hollis said.
“I wanted to perform well and get the win for my team. Even though the win is
good, we’re not going to leave it at that, we’ve got to keep moving
forward.”
The win makes it consecutive seasons opening the year
2-1, and the third time in the Vanessa Blair era. The Lady Wildcats return
to the court in a 7 p.m. road meeting with Stetson, next Tuesday, Nov. 20, as
B-CU will be pursuing the first 3-1 opening record since 2008-09.
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Post-Game Quotes
“You look at
her and she looks slight, but she is very athletic. She has played the small
forward position as well as playing the wing position. Right now for our team
she is getting her minutes more at the post, and if you look at her, you think
‘wow, she’s undersized’, but she plays very big.”
“She has
guard-type skills, so it’s tough to defend her as a regular post
player.”
“This is
what’s expected of Amanda on this team. She is our go-to post player. What makes
Amanda that much better this year is that she’s completely healthy, so now
you’re getting to see Amanda at her full potential, and she is leading and
playing well for this program.”
I feel like,
as a team we stuck together through trials. I felt like we kept our heads and we
stayed working together no matter what happened on the court, we tried to work
together as a team.
| COURTESY: BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS |
The Rattlers earned a 10-7 halftime advantage, but the Wildcats
took control of the contest in the second half.
Bethune Cookman Wildcats vs.
Florida A&M Rattlers 
