Offensive struggles and turnovers plagued the Rams in Thursday's loss. As a team, the Rams struggled to find their offense in the game. As a team, the Rams shot just 28.9% (13-of-45) in the game. WSSU junior center Kandace Tate led the way with nine points for the Rams while senior center Taylor Boyd added six points. Both Boyd and Pate led the team's rebounding effort with six rebounds each. In addition to their shooting woes, the Rams struggled to keep the ball as the team totaled nearly as many turnovers (33) as points (38) in the tough loss.

The Rams started the game with a solid first half. The team had some strong efforts in the first and second quarters. In the first quarter, the Rams could not quite stop a hot-shooting Lady Trojans squad that hit three-pointers in the quarter and left the Rams trailing, 15-10 in the first quarter. After four straight points from Tate, the Rams allowed 11 points to the Lady Trojans and trailed 4-11 with 4:41 left in the quarter. The Rams only allowed one more field goal to the Lady Trojans, but ended the quarter trailing, 10-15 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter saw a much improved effort from the Rams as the team cooled off the Lady Trojans' three-point shooting. The Rams were able to outscore the Lady Trojans 12-10 in the quarter. After falling behind by as many as eight points, the Rams mounted a five-point run, capped by a three-pointer from freshman guard Taniya Dunn at the 4:02 mark that pulled the team to within three points, 17-20. In the final minutes the Rams cut their deficit down to just two points, 20-22 with 00:38 left to play, but a VSU three-pointer was followed by a pair of free throws from senior guard Taelor Mandeville that left the halftime score, 22-25.

After a solid first half of play, the Rams were handcuffed by a press defense by the Lady Trojans that saw the team get outscored 17-7 in the third quarter and 17-9 in the fourth quarter. Boyd opened things up on a high note with a lay-up that pulled the Rams to within one point, 24-25 with 7:53 left in the third quarter. VSU went on a 12-1 run that left the Rams trailing, 25-37 before a three-pointer from junior guard Tiana Edwards ended the drought and left the Rams trailing, 28-37 with 3:58 left in the quarter. The three-pointer was the last field goal that the Rams would manage in the quarter as a steal and lay-up at the buzzer by the Lady Trojans left WSSU trailing, 29-42.

The fourth quarter was no easier for the Rams. WSSU allowed an 8-3 run by the Lady Trojans before a three-pointer from Mandeville ended the drought and left the Rams trailing, 52-34 with 4:11 left to play. In the final minutes, a Tate lay-up and a lay-up from Dunn were all that the team could muster and finished the evening with the 59-38 loss.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 5-9 and 1-3 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) play. The team will return to action, Saturday when they host the Chowan Hawks in a 2:00 p.m. game. For more information on Rams women's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.