Boateng named MVSU women's soccer coach

ITTA BENA, Mississippi – The beginning of a new era for the Mississippi Valley State women's soccer program has begun.

N. Fabio Boateng has been named the third head coach in school history for the Devilettes, succeeding Sonia Curvelo who recently accepted the same position at Cleveland State. Boateng will take over a MVSU soccer program that won a SWAC Tournament championship in 2012 and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the third in school history.

He arrives at MVSU after a successful four-year stint at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where last season he led the Lady Lions to a school-record 8-5-2 finish.

Last season, two Lincoln University student-athletes were named Second Team All-Atlantic. Boateng also coached the 2013 ECAC Division II Women's Soccer Rookie of the Year (Christian Harris) and Tara O'Brien, who was tabbed ECAC All-Star. Not only did the Lady Lions excel on the playing field, but also in the classroom. Three Lincoln University women's soccer student-athlete were selected Honorable Mention to the 2013 NSCAA College Division Women's Scholar All-East Region Team for maintain above a 3.30 cumulative grade point average. Also, the Lady Lions were honored with the 2012-13 Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches of America for accumulating a 3.48 GPA during the 2012-13 academic term.

Prior to his time at Lincoln, Boateng served for two seasons as an assistant coach at Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. At Converse College, a NCAA Division II institution, he was instrumental in all of the program's operations, including recruiting, game planning, scouting and game-day managing. Converse earned its second All-Converse honor under his guidance.

He also served as the head coach in South Carolina at Boiling Springs High School during the 2010 spring season and led the boy's to their most successful season ever. It included six conference wins and a trip to the second round of the state championships. Four players were named to the all-region team, a first in school history.

Prior to his stint at Converse and Boiling Springs, Boateng served as a graduate assistant for two seasons at Division I Virginia Commonwealth University. During the 2006-07 year, all 15 students he mentored maintained a 2.5 GPA or higher required by the NCAA.

From May 2004 to August 2006, Boateng served both the men's and women's soccer programs at the University of Ghana. While assisting the men, he became the first head coach of the women's program. The women were 23-5-2 and earned two goal medals (2004, 2006) at the Ghana University Sports Association Games, the equivalent of NCAA titles in that country.

During that period, he transformed from player to coach, as he was a four-year starter at the University of Ghana from 2000-2004, which included a gold medal in West Africa's University Games in his freshman season and an appearance in the finals in his senior campaign.

Boateng holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a minor in the study of religion from the University of Ghana, a Master's of Science in Sports Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University and earned a second Master's degree in Business Administration in Risk Management.

COURTESY MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

GSU Football Season Tickets go on Sale March 22nd

GRAMBLING, Louisiana  -- Season Tickets for the 2014 Grambling State University Football season will go on sale March 22nd at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center as a part of the Spring Football Game festivities. The Tigers will have three big home games this season at Robinson stadium as a part of the schedule.

Grambling will celebrate High School Day on Saturday, October 11th and will face Alcorn State University at 2 p.m. Homecoming 2014 will be the following week on October 18th at 2 p.m. against the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. The final home game of the season will be on Saturday, November 15th at 2 p.m. against Alabama State University. That game will be First Responders and Military Day as we honor those, who protect and serve our community and our country.

Season ticket holders will also have the opportunity to purchase Bayou Classic Tickets before they go on sale to the general public. For more information, call the GSU Ticket office at 318-274-2625.

COURTESY GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

ASU Hornets Dominate Youngstown State

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  -- The Alabama State baseball team opened an 11-game homestand with an 11-2 win over Youngstown State Tuesday at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.

Michael Estevez (2-0) set the tone with five consecutive strikeouts to begin the game. He pitched a career-best six innings, allowing only four hits, one walk, and a career-high six strikeouts.

"It was an amazing performance," head coach Mervyl Melendez said of Estevez, who has not allowed a run in 11 innings pitched this season in his first year as a starter. "He has had back-to-back outings where he's thrown the ball very well. The five strikeouts were all on fastballs. He did very well tonight."

Emmanuel Marrero set career highs with four hits and four RBI as the Hornets won their third straight game.

"He swung the bat extremely well," Melendez said of Marrero. "Every hit he had he squared the baseball on the bat; he didn't have any cheap hits. When a hitter is seeing the ball like that, it looks like a beach ball, and I think that was the case for him tonight."

The Hornets scored two runs in the first inning, and four in the second inning. Richard Amion, who went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, and two RBI, led off with a walk. He stole second, and scored on Richard Gonzalez' RBI single to right field. With two outs,  Gonzalez stole second, and scored on Marrero's single up the middle for a 2-0 lead.

In the second, Branden Castro led off with a single to left, and advanced to third on a one-out double by Einar Muniz. Amion then singled to left, scoring Castro and Muniz. With two out, Cesar Rivera and Waldyvan Estrada were hit by pitches to load the bases. Marrero then singled down the right field, scoring Amion and Rivera to give the Hornets a 6-0 lead.

Leading 8-0 in the seventh, Marrero singled and scored on a Marcus Swint's triple, with Swint scoring on a throwing error on the play. Marrero completed his four-hit, four RBI night with a two-out single to right field, scoring Chase Waters who doubled.

The Hornets and Penguins conclude their two-game series Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.

Box Score

COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Nuggets' Abbes repeats as GCAC Player of the Week

Nour Abbes

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Nour Abbes is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in women's tennis for the second consecutive week.
    
Abbes, a freshman from Tunis, Tunisia, and a graduate of Lycée Sportif d'El Menzah, received the honor for Feb. 17-23 after producing singles victories at the top flight against two NCAA Division I opponents. Abbes defeated McNeese State's Klaudia Gawlik 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3) on Friday and Southeastern Louisiana's Renee Villarreal 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday. She also teamed with Kourtney Howell at No. 1 doubles for an 8-1 victory against Villarreal and Reginka Nychytailova.
    
Xavier, 4-4 and ranked sixth in the NAIA, is scheduled to travel to Jackson, Miss., for GCAC duals against Fisk and Tougaloo on Saturday. The Gold Nuggets' next home dual will start at 2 p.m. on March 12 against Oral Roberts at XU Tennis Center. The next XU men's dual will start at 1 p.m. Friday against West Florida — the third-ranked team in NCAA Division II — at Pensacola, Fla. The Gold Rush are ranked eighth in the NAIA.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
https://twitter.com/xulagold
https://www.facebook.com/xulagold
      

Balanced Attack Pushes Shaw Past Lincoln Lady Lions

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- The Shaw University women's basketball team came out on top of a 71-56 decision against The Lincoln University Lady Lions on Wednesday afternoon in Time Warner Cable Arena in the second round of CIAA Tournament play.  The Lady Bears now advance to the semifinals with a 19-8 mark on the year while the Lady Lions end their season with a 12-15 record.

 

Shaw entered the contest as the number two seed out of the Southern Division with Lincoln as the sixth seed from the Northern Division.  The Lady Bears will take on the winner of the Virginia State and St. Augustine quarterfinal contest Friday at either 1:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m.

 

Shaw had four players score double-digit points in the victory.  Diamond Mitchell and Kamiya Burwell both tallied 15 points.  Kaula Jacks added 13 while Verdine Warner contributed 10 points for the Lady Bears.  Micah Brooks grabbed 13 rebounds (four offensive, nine defensive).

 

Shaw head coach Jaques Curtis commented, "We played really tentatively in the first half…[but] we were able to make some things happen in the second half…[and] that's ultimately what made the difference in today's game."

 

Zephrah Pam led all players in the contest with 16 points for the Lady Lions.  She also hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds (five offensive, nine defensive).  Dejah Taylor chipped in 10 points for Lincoln in the loss.

 

The Bears had the hotter shooting hand, hitting 40 percent of their shots from the field, while Lincoln hit 30.6 percent.

 

In what was, at times, a sloppy game, both teams struggled from the three-point line, with the teams going a combined three for 30.  Shaw hit one of ten of their shots, while Lincoln sank two of 20.

 

Both teams committed 24 turnovers each.

 

Cynthia Johnson opened up the contest with a jumper for the Lady Lions and Mieana Gaines followed with a basket of her own to give Lincoln a 4-0 lead early in the contest.  A bucket by Micah Brooks put the Lady Bears on the board at the 18:18 mark.

 

With the score tied 6-6 and 16:25 on the clock, Kaula Jacks and Verdine Warner hit back-to-back layups for Shaw, making the score 10-6 and giving the Lady Bears their first lead of the contest.

 

Pam's layup at the 11:52 mark knotted the score once more (14-14).  The game was tied at total of nine times in the first half, as each team battled for control of the momentum and the score.

 

Lisa Saunder's three-pointer for Lincoln with 23 seconds on the clock put the Lady Lions ahead 30-28, but two made free throws by Kamiya Burwell iced the game 30-30 as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.

 

The Lady Bears came out firing at the start of the second half as Shaw used a 17-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Ariel Hatcher to pull away 47-32 with 14:27 remaining in the game. The deficit proved to be insurmountable for the Lady Lions, as they were never able to recover from a slow start to the second half.

 

Lincoln clawed their way back to move within eight points (53-45) using a layup by Clark, with 6:42 left in the game and continued to try to chip away at the score.  Warner's basket for the Lady Bears on the next possession gave Shaw back the double-digit lead.

 

Pam answered with a score of her own for Lincoln which cut the Lady Bears' lead to nine points (55-46).  That's as close as Lincoln would get as Shaw maintained a double-digit advantage for the final six minutes of play en-route to the 71-56 win.

 

Eleven of Burwell's 15 points came at the free throw line, where she hit 11 of 13.  She also had eight assists to lead both squads.  Brooks added seven points to her 13 rebounds.

Box Score

COURTESY SHAW UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

VUU Lady Panthers Surge into CIAA Semis with 73-53 Win Over Bowie State

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  --  The Virginia Union University women's basketball team persevered through an early deficit to earn a 73-53 win over Bowie State University on Wednesday morning in Time Warner Cable Arena.  The Lady Bulldogs entered the game as the second seed out of the Northern Division with the Lady Panthers as the third seed from the North.

"We asked our team to work hard today.  When you work hard you have fun.  And when you have fun, you can play with the energy that's hard for the other team to match," stated Lady Panthers' head coach Barvenia Wooten-Cherry.

Virginia Union advances with an 11-15 record and will take on the winner of Wednesday's 2:40pm contest between Fayetteville State and Johnson C. Smith.  Bowie State ends their season with an 11-14 record.

Ashle Freeman led all players in the contest with 25 points in the win for Virginia Union.  Melyse Brown added 20 points while Jasmin Dancy chipped in 13 points to guide the team to victory.  Donia Naylor paced Bowie State with 20 points in the loss.  She also grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds (three offensive, 14 defensive).

"Virginia Union is a good ball club and they were more disciplined down the stretch than we were," stated Bowie State head coach Renard Smith.

Naylor opened up the contest with a jumper and Moriah Goodman followed with a bucket to give the Lady Bulldogs a 4-0 lead early in the contest.  Brown put the Lady Panthers on the board with a score of her own at the 17:36 mark.  Uchechi Ahaiwe completed the three-point play for the Lady Bulldogs to push Bowie State's lead to 7-2.

Freeman responded with a layup for Virginia Union to make the score 7-2 at the first media timeout.  A 3-0 run by the Lady Panthers made it a two-point game with 13:48 on the clock.



Both teams exchanged baskets over the next three minutes of play until a jump shot by Dancy for the Lady Panthers put Virginia Union within one point (10-9).  Bowie State held on to a one point lead (12-11) heading into the second media time out of the contest.  Ashley Castle gave the Lady Bulldogs some cushion with a layup at the 7:02 mark.

With 5:31 left before halftime, Shahadah Barret hit a free throw and Lady Walker grabbed a rebound and put-back to give the Lady Panthers a 15-14 lead, their first of the game.

Down 18-17 with 3:49 left before halftime, Alessandra Flores' drove to the basket for a score for Bowie State, returning the lead to the Lady Bulldogs.  From there, Bowie State remained on top and held on to a 24-23 advantage heading into halftime.

Naylor's layup at the start of the second half put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 26-23.  Virginia Union resiliently battled back using a 4-1 run to knot the score 27-27 with 18:29 left in the game.

The Lady Panthers and Lady Bulldogs traded leads over the next three minutes until a three-pointer by Freeman swung the momentum back to Virginia Union.

Holding a 34-32 advantage, the Lady Panthers clung tightly to the lead.  Bowie State refused to go away quietly and remained close on Virginia Union's heels, never trailing by more than six points until the 4:53 mark.  Brown went to work at that point, draining two free throws and scoring two baskets to build the Lady Panther lead to 58-48 with 3:29 on the clock.

Virginia Union led by as many as 16 points (66-50) as late as the 1:22 mark before closing out the contest with the 73-53 victory.

Box Score

COURTESY VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Watch Today's CIAA Baskeball Tournament Live @ Livestream

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  -- The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is proud to announce the seeding for the 2014 Men's and Women's Basketball Championship, February 25 through March 1, at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. Tournament tickets are still available for purchase by visiting the Ticketmaster website.

Women's Bracket | Men's Bracket

Watch the action live at our Livestream feed below:

ciaa on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Wednesday, February 26

Women’s Quarterfinals

#2N Bowie State vs. 3N/6S winner 10:00 a.m.

#2S Shaw vs. 3S/6N winner 12:20 p.m.

#1S Fayetteville State vs. 4N/5S winner 2:40 p.m.

#1N Virginia State vs. 4S/5N winner 5:00 p.m.

Men

#4S Shaw vs. 5N/6S winner 7:20 p.m.

#4N Virginia Sate. vs 5S/6N winner 9:40 p.m.

Thursday, February 27

Men’s Quarterfinals

#1S Livingstone vs. 4S/5N/6S 1:00 p.m.

#1N Bowie State vs. 4N/5S/6N 3:00 p.m.

#2N Lincoln (PA) vs. #3S Fayetteville State 7:00 p.m.

#2S Winston-Salem State vs. #3N Elizabeth City State 9:00 p.m.

Friday, February 28

Women’s Semifinals

1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Men’s Semifinals

7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 1

Women’s Championship - 5:00 p.m.

Men’s Championship - 8:30 p.m.

COURTESY THECIAA.COM