ORANGEBURG, SC – Life on the road was not easy for the Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (2-3) as the team took a tough 53-47 loss to the Claflin Panthers (3-0) in their first road game of the season, Tuesday. While there was no shortage of effort for the Lady Rams, the team struggled to hit shots in the tough road loss.

As a team, the Lady Rams struggled offensively, but once again gave their trademark strong defense. There were some positive points for the Lady Rams as the team pulled in 44 rebounds and committed just 18 turnovers in the game. However, the team could not get over a 28% shooting effort for the night with only 14 made field goals, including just one three-pointer made. Senior forward Dionna Scott led the way for the Lady Rams with 14 points and eight rebounds while fellow senior forward Jovanah Graham added 13 rebounds. Sophomore center Sha'Quira Palmer pulled in 10 rebounds with two blocked shots as well.

The Lady Rams' struggles began early in the game as a pair of early Graham scores in the first minute and a half of the game was the only WSSU points in the first nine minutes of play. When a Palmer free throw at the 10:54 mark ended the drought for the Lady Rams, the team was trailing, 5-17. After falling behind by as many as 12 points (9-21), the Lady Rams continued to work their way into the game as a Scott free throw capped an 8-3 run by the Lady Rams that cut the team's deficit down to six points, 17-23 with 3:47 left in the half. The Lady Rams' struggles continued in the final minutes of the half as the team fell behind 21-31 with 1:14 left in the half, but the team scored four unanswered points to cut their deficit down to six points, 25-31 at halftime.

The second half began on a much brighter note for the Lady Rams as the team erased its deficit and took its first lead of the game. The Lady Rams opened the half with a 7-1 run that included four points from Scott and three from Graham. The effort gave the Lady Rams a 32-31 lead with 16:09 left to play. Another scoring drought would raise its head for the Lady Rams as the team was held scoreless for four minutes and fell behind, 33-42 with 12:51 left in the game. It was a pair of free throws from junior guard Angel Porter that broke the scoring drought for the Lady Rams at the 11:45 mark and pulled the Lady Rams to within seven points of the Panthers, 35-42. The Lady Rams fell behind by seven points, 40-47 with 6:08 left to play, but the Lady Rams kicked things into gear with a 7-1 run that cut their deficit down to just one point, 47-48 when Scott hit a lay-up with 3:10 left. Unfortunately for the Lady Rams, the score was the final one of the game for the team as the Lady Rams went scoreless for the remainder of the game and ended the evening with the loss.

The Lady Rams won't have long to rest as the team will return to action, Monday when they return to the road to take on Francis Marion. 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.