SALISBURY, NC – The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (10-16, 6-10 CIAA) gave it their all, but the team just could not get past the Livingstone Blue Bears (23-1, 15-1 CIAA), Saturday afternoon. The Lady Rams pushed the Blue Bears, the top team in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region to its limits, but they could not pull out the victory, Saturday.

The loss came in spite of a great effort from the Lady Rams who were solid at both ends of the court. However, foul troubles and some timely free throws from the Blue Bears turned out to be too much for the Lady Rams to overcome. Offensively, the Lady Rams had an impressive showing as they shot 40.4% from the floor, but the team committed 20 turnovers in the loss. The Lady Rams were especially effective on defense as they held Livingstone to shooting 27.8% from the floor. The Lady Rams were made to pay at the free throw line, however, as Livingstone scored 29 points in 41 attempts at the free throw line. The WSSU senior duo of Dionna Scott and Jovanah Graham led the way for the Lady Rams. Scott totaled 12 points in the game while Graham added 11 points and a team-high six rebounds in the game.

After getting off to a slow start, the Lady Rams kicked things into gear to keep things close, but a late slump proved costly for the team. Things got tough early for the Lady Rams with Livingstone going out to a 7-2 lead after the first five minutes of play. A pair of back-to-back scores from sophomore forward Jasmine Carter and Scott sparked the team as they cut their deficit to just one point, 10-9 with 11:29 left to play. More problems would arise for the Lady Rams when they allowed a 7-1 run by the Blue Bears and fell behind, 17-10 midway through the half. Lady Rams would make a run of their own as a Carter three-pointer at the 4:50 mark capped an 8-4 run by the Lady Rams and pulled the team within three points, 21-18. The final minutes of the half proved to be critical for the Lady Rams however, as the Lady Rams were held to just one field goal in the final two minutes of the game and took a 32-24 deficit into the locker room at halftime.

The Lady Rams were able to shake off their late first half struggles for a strong second half and even tied the game late, but some late Livingstone free throws keyed the loss for the Lady Rams. The Lady Rams kicked things off with an 11-2 run that was sparked by a Graham lay-up and ended with a lay-up from junior guard Kesheria McNeil that tied the game 38-38. The Lady Rams kept the game within reach 44-45 after a jumper from junior forward Jeri Craine with 8:04 left. However, the Lady Rams allowed an eight straight points by the Blue Bears and fell behind, 53-47 with 5:27 left to play. Once again, the final minutes of the half saw another drought from the Lady Rams as the team fell behind, 58-49 with 1:42 left to play. The Blue Bears were especially effective at the free throw line where they connected on five free throws in less than a minute. In the final minute and a half, the Lady Rams outscored the Blue Bears, 6-2, but the effort was not enough as the Lady Rams ended the day with the 60-55 loss.

With the loss, the Lady Rams finish the regular season with a 10-16 record and a 6-10 record in CIAA play. Currently, the team is tied for fourth place in the CIAA Southern Division and will await seeding for the 2015 CIAA Championship Tournament next week. 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.