CHARLOTTE, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (11-14, 6-9 CIAA) could not seem to get out of their own way when the team took a 77-59 loss at Johnson C. Smith (16-10, 9-6 CIAA), Wednesday evening. Though the team had a solid outing with 59 total points and shooting a solid 42.6% from the floor in the game, the team was hampered by their 28 turnovers in the tough loss.

Turnovers aside, the Rams played a solid overall game. The team hit 23-of-54 shots from the floor in the game and totaled 32 rebounds in the game. However, the team's 28 turnovers led to 24 points off turnovers for the Golden Bulls, nearly a third of the points allowed by the Rams. WSSU junior forward Sha'Quira Palmer led the way for the Rams with a career-high 16 points in the game. Junior guard Trei Torain added nine points, all of which came during a five-minute run during the second quarter. Redshirt-sophomore forward Jatzmin Johnson added seven points in the game. Sophomore center Kandace Tate added a team-high eight rebounds in the game while junior guard Jeri Craine pulled in six rebounds.

Things got tough early for the Rams when the team struggled through the first half. The first quarter was especially tough for the Rams as the team was outscored 25-10. After allowing the Golden Bulls to begin the game with seven unanswered points, the team couldn't get any closer than five points, 9-4 after a Palmer jumper at 6:28 in the opening quarter. From there, the Rams were never able to get any closer as they closed out the quarter trailing, 25-10. The second quarter saw a much improved effort from the Rams as they outscored Johnson C. Smith 19-18. The high point of the quarter came at the 4:04 mark when senior guard Awa Kalmstrom hit a jumper to cut the WSSU deficit down to just eight points, 34-26.  Though the Rams could never get over the hump, the Rams were able to build some much needed momentum heading into halftime, trailing, 43-29.

The momentum from the strong finish to the first half carried over into the second half with a strong third quarter for the Rams, but the team could not sustain the effort as some fourth quarter struggles ended the Rams' chances at completing the rally. The Rams made a great effort in the third quarter as they outscored the Golden Bulls, 16-14 in the third quarter. After going down by as many as 19 points, 35-54 with 4:44 left in the third quarter, the Rams mounted a furious comeback effort with a 10-3 run to close the quarter and trailed by just 12 points, 45-57 at the end of the quarter. As good as the third quarter was for the Rams, it was not enough to last through the fourth quarter when the Rams were outscored, 20-16. It was a JCSU seven-point run midway through the quarter that effectively put the game away from the Rams as the team was never able to recover and ended the evening with the 77-59 loss.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 11-14 overall and 6-9 in CIAA play. More importantly, the team falls to 5-4 in CIAA Southern Division play and into fifth place. The Rams will have a chance to move into fourth place, Saturday when the team hosts the Livingstone Blue Bears in a noon Senior Day game. 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.