Jan. 8, 2011
Box Score
RICHMOND, VA - The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (7-4, 2-0 CIAA) remain undefeated for the New Year as they easily defeated the Lady Panthers of Virginia Union (0-8, 0-1 CIAA) 77-48, Saturday evening. The Lady Rams took control of the game early and never looked back, controlling the contest for all 40 minutes. The team used a strong defensive effort, along with a solid offensive night, to power past the Lady Panthers and picked up their third straight win for the second time this season. Heading into the season, the Lady Rams had not won three games in a row since 2005.
"This was a good win for us. To be on the road and to be 3-0 on this road trip is definitely an accomplishment for these young ladies," WSSU head women's basketball head coach Stephen Joyner, Jr. said following the win. "Hopefully, we can finish it off with a strong win at Bowie State, who has a very good basketball team, Monday."
The Lady Rams clicked on all cylinders in the win. Offensively, the team shot 46% (25-54) from the field and connected on 22-of-33 free throws. Defensively, the Lady Rams stifled the Lady Panthers, forcing 29 turnovers. The team also held the rebounding advantage, 38-28 in the game. Junior guard Courtney Medley continued her strong season, leading the Lady Rams with 16 points in the game. Junior guard Taneisha White and senior forward Vontisha Woods also added 13 points each in the win.
"The addition Taneisha White definitely helped us tonight. She is another athletic body who can get up and down the floor and does a variety of things, " Joyner added. "So bringing her into the lineup, along with Courtney Medley, Jasmine Newkirk and now Vontisha Woods, we have a lot of offensive weapons that we bring to the floor every night."
The Lady Rams displayed their tough defense early causing four Lady Panthers turnovers in the first four minutes of the ballgame. The Lady Rams turned the Lady Panther's mistakes into points and jumped out to a 7-2 lead with 15:52 left in the half. Free throws by Junior Courtney Medley pushed the Lady Rams out to a double digit lead (20-10) midway through the first half. The Lady Rams continued their dominance and extended to 18 points (33-15) with 6:24 left in the half. For the remainder of the half, the Lady Rams continued to stretch their lead and the Lady Panthers would get no closer than 19 points. The Lady Rams went into halftime with a comfortable 21 point (42-21) lead.
In the second half the Lady Rams continued right where they left off, starting the half on a 7-0 run and taking a 49-25 lead with 16:44 left in the game. The Lady Panthers tried to make a run, cutting the WSSU lead down to 16 points, 49-33 with 14:15 left to play, but the Lady Rams had an answer. The Lady Rams put together an impressive 14-0 run and took a commanding 77-41 lead with 4:07 to go in the game. Down the stretch, the Lady Rams turned up their defensive efforts to close out the win, allowing only seven Lady Panthers points in the final four minutes and finished out the strong victory.
The Lady Rams will close out their road trip with a game at Bowie State, Monday when the Lady Rams take on the Lady Bulldogs in a 5:30 p.m. game. For more information on Lady Rams basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2909 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.
