ELIZABETH CITY, NC – The Winston-Salem State University Rams (1-3) women's basketball team just could not manage enough offense when the team took a 73-59 loss to the Wilmington (Del.) Wildcats in the opening game of the Elizabeth City State University Classic. Though the Rams had a solid overall effort, the team could not slow down a hot-shooting Wildcats team.

As a team, the Rams dominated some areas of the game, but had some costly miscues in the loss. The Rams finished the game shooting 30.3% (23-of-76) in the game, but were bolstered by outrebounding the Wildcats, 53-38. As a result, the team finished the game with a 17-4 edge in second chance points. Defensively, the Rams struggled to slow down the Wildcats, who finished the game shooting a scorching hot 50.0% (29-58) from the floor and 43.8% (seven-of-16) from the three-point line.

One silver lining for the Rams was the team's play in the post with the tandem of sophomore forward Briana Arnold and sophomore center Kandace Tate leading the way for the team. Arnold played a career game when she recorded a double-double with a career-high double-double effort with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the game while fellow sophomore center Kandace Tate added a double-double of her own with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the game as well. Junior forward Jasmine Carter had the best game off the bench for the Rams with 11 points.

Things looked good early for the Rams, but a late drought and offensive run by the Wildcats put the Rams into an eight-point deficit at the end of the first quarter. Things looked good early for the Rams as the team scored the first five points of the game to go ahead 5-0 after an Arnold lay-up at the 8:26 mark in the first quarter. However, the Wildcats answered with a 14-1 run that left the Rams trailing, 14-6 with 2:37 left in the quarter. The Rams were plagued by offensive struggles as the team went a full five minutes without a field goal during the run. A Carter three-pointer at the 2:14 mark would end the drought for the Rams, but the team still ended the quarter trailing 11-19 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter saw a better effort by the Rams as the team was just outscored by one point in the quarter. It was Arnold that would kick start things for the Rams as she scored every point of a WSSU 6-2 run that cut the WSSU deficit down to four points, 17-21 with 8:38 left in the first half. Unfortunately, Wilmington would answer with seven unanswered points to leave the Rams behind, 17-28 with 6:54 left in the half. The remainder of the quarter saw both teams struggling as they combined for five field goals in the final six minutes of the half. In the end, the Rams would take a 33-24 deficit into the locker room.

The WSSU struggles continued into the third quarter, but late run would give the team some much needed life. The Rams struggled early in the quarter as Wilmington (Del.) pushed its lead to as many as 15 points, 39-24 before the Rams began a late rally. The Rams would cut their deficit down to single digits after Carter and Arnold would both hit unanswered three-pointers to pull the Rams to within nine points, 30-39 with 5:24 left in the quarter. As both teams continued to play, the Rams would get no closer than nine points and finished the quarter trailing, 40-54.

The fourth quarter saw another slow start for the Rams, but the team made a furious rally, but the deficit turned out to be too much for the team to overcome. The Rams allowed seven unanswered points by the Wildcats to go by 19 points, the largest deficit of the game before making an effort at a late rally. A three-pointer from sophomore guard Tiana Edwards with 6:21 left to play capped an 11-point WSSU run that pulled the team to within eight points, 51-59. The effort was as much as the Rams could muster as Wilmington (Del.) outscored the Rams 14-8 in the final six minutes of the game and sealed the 73-59 loss for the Rams.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 1-3 for the season. The team won't have long to recover as they will return to action tomorrow in the 2:00 p.m. game on the second day of the Elizabeth City State Classic. For more information on Rams women's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on towww.WSSURams.com.