RALEIGH, NC – The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (9-14, 5-8 CIAA) could not overcome foul troubles and a stingy defense in a hard-fought 55-34 loss to the Shaw Lady Bears (15-10, 8-5 CIAA), Wednesday evening. The loss was a critical one for the Lady Rams as they remain in fifth place in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division.

There no shortage of defense on both ends of the court as both teams played fought for every possession for all 40 minutes. Foul troubles plagued the Lady Rams all game long as the sent the Lady Bears to the free throw line for 24 attempts in the game and accumulated 26 total team fouls. As a team, the Lady Rams could only manage 34 points in the game and shot just 18.8% from the floor. However, the Lady Rams didn't make it much easier for their opponents as they forced 29 Shaw turnovers and held the usually potent Lady Bears to just 55 points in the game. WSSU senior forward Dionna Scott led the way for the Lady Rams with eight points in the game and tied for the team lead with five rebounds. Sophomore center Sha'Quira Palmer added five rebounds in the game.

Though the Lady Rams fought hard for the entire game, the team struggled with a slow start as they fell behind, 0-4, but Scott woke things up with a three-pointer at the 17:13 mark pull the Lady Rams within a point, 4-3. Shaw would once again push its lead up to three points, 6-3, but junior guard Kesheria McNeil tied the game at 6-6 with a three-pointer at the 14:38 mark. From there, the two teams continued to battle as a lay-up from sophomore forward Tabitha Fudge tied the game for the third time 10-10 with 9:17 left in the half. It was then that things got tough for the Lady Rams when Shaw went on a 10-2 run that left the Lady Rams trailing, 20-12 with 2:48 left. In addition to the precious time that was run off during the WSSU drought, the Lady Rams picked up some key fouls during the stretch. In the final three minutes of the game, the Lady Rams managed just two more points, a pair of free throws from freshman center Briana Arnold, and took a 22-14 deficit into the locker room at halftime.

Though challenged, the Lady Rams would continue to battle in the second half, but the team could not overcome foul troubles and some tough Lady Bears defense. The Lady Rams would cut their deficit down to seven points, 24-17 after an Arnold free throw at the 18:03 mark, but the team would get no closer for the remainder of the game. The Lady Rams fell victim to an 8-4 run by the Lady Bears that left WSSU trailing, 34-21 with 12:40 left. The Lady Rams continued to fight, but not quite get their offense in gear down the stretch of the half as Shaw pushed its lead to as many as 18 points, 48-30 with 3:20 left to play. In the final three minute, the Lady Rams turned up their defensive pressure in an effort get back into the game, but foul troubles soon caught up to the Lady Rams as they continually sent the Lady Bears to the free throw line while continuing to struggle against the Shaw defense. In the end, the Lady Rams finish the evening with the 55-34 loss.

With the loss, the Lady Rams fall to 9-13 on the season and 5-7 in CIAA play, and 2-5 in CIAA Southern Division play. The Lady Rams won't have to wait long to get things going when they host the Fayetteville State Lady Broncos, Saturday afternoon. 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.