Charlotte, NC – Day one of the 2019 CIAA Women’s Basketball Tournament tipped-off this evening at Bojangles Coliseum. Monday’s action featured the first opening round matchup between the Elizabeth City State Vikings and the Shaw Lady Bears.
Food Lion MVP Asia Deal scored 22 points to lead four double-figure scorers as Elizabeth City State relied on a big fourth quarter to oust Shaw 77-55 in the women’s opening round of the CIAA Tournament at Bojangles’ Coliseum on Monday.
Naterria Luster added 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jayln Brown scored 14 points for the sixth-seed Northern Division Vikings, who advanced to face No. 3 Southern Division seed Winston-Salem State on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Devona Stell added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Lady Vikings (14-15 overall) used a 23-8 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Lady Bears (7-22 overall), who closed within one point in the third period after trailing by nine points at halftime. The fourth-quarter run was part of a 32-10 Vikings spurt after a three-point play by Keyonte Cherry got the Bears with 46-45 with 4:37 in the third quarter.
“We switched defenses and got a little aggressive,” ECSU Head Coach Antonio Davis said. “Coach [Jacques] Curtis and his team did a good job making adjustments in the second half. We countered with pressure defense – man-to-man fullcourt – and it turned the game around.”
Macy Keen led the Lady Bears, seeded seventh in the Southern Division, with 16 points and 12 rebounds. RaQuel Kellow added 14 points and Amani Moxley chipped in 10 points for the Lady Bears.
“This was a capsule of our season,” Curtis said about the second half. “We reeled [the Vikings] in but let them get away.
The Vikings shot 53.8 percent in the fourth quarter and 42.4 percent for the game. They outrebounded the Lady Bears 44-40 and made 5 of 10 three-pointers for 50 percent. At the free throw line, the Vikings were 17 of 26 for 65.4 percent.
The Lady Bears made 33.3 percent of their shots in the fourth quarter. For the contest, they made 37.7 percent of their shots including 33.3 percent of their three-point attempts (4 of 12). Shaw only got to the free throw line eight times, making five for 62.5 percent.
Deal scored 11 points and Brown and Luster each added nine points in the first half for the Vikings, who opened the play-in contest with a 12-2 lead. The trio kept the Vikings ahead in the first half, but the Lady Bears – led by 10 points from Keen – kept the pressure on their opponent.
But Keen, a 6-6 junior, picked up her second foul in the first half and the Lady Vikings capitalized. They outscored the Lady Bears 9-2 in the last five minutes to turn a two-point margin into a 40-31 lead at the break. Stell pulled down eight rebounds and contributed six points in the first half for the Vikings. Taylor Royster totaled eight points for the Lady Bears.
The Vikings shot 46.9 percent and outrebounded the Lady Bears 20-16 in the first half. They made 7 of 7 free throw attempts and were 3 of 5 from three-point range for 60 percent. The Lady Bears connected on 41.9 percent of their shots in the first two quarters. They were 3 of 8 behind the three-point arc for 37.5 percent.
Romanda Noble-Watson contributed to this story
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