WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Winston-Salem State (10-14, 6-8 CIAA) clicked on all cylinders to take a 62-55 win over the Fayetteville State (8-15, 4-10 CIAA), Saturday afternoon. With the regular season winding down, the Lady Rams picked up a key victory in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division. The team took the win behind a stellar defensive effort that included forcing 27 turnovers and was combined with a solid offensive performance with the team scoring 38 second half points to take home the victory.

For the game, the Lady Rams had a solid overall effort as they shot 34.5% from the floor in the game while holding the Broncos to 17 field goals made and shooting 38.6% from the floor. The Lady Rams stepped up to the challenge of facing one of the top front courts in the CIAA with some quality defense and some timely scoring throughout the game. WSSU senior forward Dionna Scott led the way for the Lady Rams with a double-double 17 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Fellow senior forward Jovanah Graham added 10 points and six rebounds as well.

The Lady Rams took control of the game early with their best start of the season and remained in control for much of the first half, but they had to fend off a Fayetteville State team that showed a lot of fight. The Lady Rams dominated the early portion of the half as the team jumped out to a 12-0 lead and held that included nine combined points from Scott and Graham. In fact, the Lady Rams held the Broncos without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the game and held a 12-4 lead. However, the tables soon turned on the Lady Rams as Fayetteville State mounted a 13-3 run of its own that left the Lady Rams trailing, 17-15 with 6:08 left in the half. From there, the Lady Rams and the Broncos continued a see saw battle for the remainder of the half as neither team could manage to go ahead by more than two points until the final minute of the half when a free throw from sophomore forward Tabitha Fudge and a lay-up from senior guard Taylar Wells, combined with some lockdown defense in the final minute, sealed a great half and gave the Lady Rams a 24-21 lead at halftime.

While the Lady Rams saw an early effort get challenged by the Broncos late in the first half, the team made sure that the second half was a different story as they used some big offensive outbursts to take home the victory. The Lady Rams opened the half with a 14-6 run to kick things off and took a 38-27 lead at the 14:48 mark. Once again, Fayetteville State answered, cutting the WSSU lead down to just two points, 46-45 with just over eight minutes left to play, but the Lady Rams stepped up to the challenge and would not let the victory slip away.  The team went on a brief 9-2 run to reestablish control of the game, 54-48 with 5:30 left to play. Fayetteville State would not simply give in to the Lady Rams as they cut the WSSU lead back down to three points with just under two minutes left to play, but the Lady Rams shut the door with some stellar defense and some clutch free throw shooting. Junior guard Awa Kalmstrom and Graham both hit two free throws each while the Lady Rams allowed just one field goal attempt in the final two minutes of the game to take the 62-55 win.

With the win, the Lady Rams picked up their 10^th win of the season and improved to 6-8 in the CIAA. The team also improved to 3-5 in the CIAA Southern Division. The win, combined with a Saint Augustine's loss at Shaw improves the Lady Rams to fourth place in the division. The Lady Rams will have a chance to continue their climb when they host Johnson C. Smith, Wednesday. 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.