WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (16-7, 11-2 CIAA) put on a dominating effort to pick up a 99-69 win over the Livingstone Lady Blue Bears (7-18, 2-11 CIAA), Monday evening. The Lady Rams turned up their defensive efforts to key the big Monday evening win.

"This was definitely the win that we needed to bounce back after tough loss on Saturday," WSSU head women's basketball coach Stephen Joyner, Jr. said following the win. "But still, we've got to put this one behind us and get ready for another tough game against Johnson C. Smith this Saturday."  

The Lady Rams clicked on all cylinders to pick up the win, forcing 25 Livingstone turnovers and scoring 36 points off turnovers in the victory. In addition to the team's great defensive effort, the Lady Rams turned in a hot shooting night, connecting on 55.6% from the field (35-of-63) in the win. WSSU senior guard Courtney Medley led the way with 20 points while freshman forward Dionna Scott added a career-high 13 points in the game.

"Our defensive intensity was the key to this win tonight. The better we play on the offensive end, the better the offensive end works better," Joyner added. "Our mindset was to get things going on the defensive end to make it easier to get open shots, rebounds and fast-break buckets."

The Lady Rams took control of the game early, allowing just one Livingstone field goal in the first four minutes of the game and jumping out to an early 16-2 lead. From there, the Lady Rams found themselves fighting off an aggressive charge by the Lady Blue Bears, who cut the WSSU lead down to seven points 19-12 with just over 12 minutes left to play. The seven points turned out to be as close as the Lady Rams would allow the Lady Blue Bears to get as the team pushed its lead to 22 points at halftime, 52-30.

Things continued to work well for the Lady Rams in the second half with the team pushing its lead to 25 points with just over 16 minutes left on a lay-up by sophomore forward Alisha Hardley. The team continued its efforts, pushing their lead to as many as 33 points, 88-55 with just over four minutes left to play. The team would go on to finish the win, 99-69.

The Lady Rams will need to keep their momentum going when they host the Johnson C. Smith Lady Golden Bulls in a 5:30 p.m. game, Saturday at the C.E. Gaines Center. 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.