FAYETTEVILLE, NC – The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (12-5, 7-0 CIAA) scored their ninth straight win, Saturday when the team took a 74-56 win over the Fayetteville State Lady Broncos (7-8, 1-5 CIAA) at Felton J. Capel Arena in Fayetteville, N.C. The Lady Rams took the win behind the stellar shooting efforts of sophomore guard Taylar Wells who led all scorers with 20 points in the win.
Well's 20 points highlighted a great overall team effort by the Lady Rams who 41.2% from the field in the game while holding Fayetteville State to shooting just 28.1% from the field. The WSSU defensive effort is quickly becoming a trademark of the Lady Rams team as WSSU forced 26 Lady Bronco turnovers in addition to holding their second straight opponent to shooting under 30%. Joining Wells' great scoring effort was senior guard Courtney Medley and junior guard Jasmine Newkirk, who both added 13 points each in the win.
The first half turned out to be a game of runs with each team scoring points in bunches. The Lady Rams took control of the game early with five unanswered points to open the contest. Though the home standing Lady Broncos would answer, cutting the WSSU lead down to one point 7-6, the Lady Rams would not relinquish control of the game, as the team mounted another five-point run. The pattern continued once again as FSU managed to cut the WSSU lead down to two points, 17-15 with 9:17 left to play. But the Lady Rams answered once again, pushing their lead to nine points on a jumper by freshman forward Jovonah Graham at the 2:13 mark that capped a 12-5 run and gave the Lady Rams their largest lead of the half, 29-20. The Lady Rams would go on to take a comfortable 30-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The second half would begin one a high note for the Lady Rams once again as the team pushed its lead out to nine points once again when a pair of Medley free throws left the Lady Rams on top, 34-23 with 19:39. With the game firmly in hand, the Lady Rams continued to hold the tough Lady Broncos at bay. A Wells lay-up at the 11:35 mark left the Lady Rams leading by 19 points, 50-31. The Lady Rams would go ahead by as many as 25 points when a lay-up by Schatavia Gray gave the Lady Rams their largest lead of the game, 67-42 with 5:32 left to play. The Lady Rams would cruise in the final minutes of the game to end the day with the 74-56 victory.
With the win, the Lady Rams improve to 12-5 overall and remain a perfect 7-0 in the CIAA, including improving to 2-0 in the CIAA Southern Division. The Lady Rams will return to action, Saturday when the team heads to Raleigh, N.C. to take on the Saint Augustine's Lady Falcons. For more information on Lady Rams basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.
