RALEIGH, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (12-11, 8-5 CIAA) had a solid overall effort, but the team could not make the plays they needed when they took a 66-60 loss to the Shaw Lady Bears (9-16, 6-7 CIAA), Wednesday evening. For the second time this season, the Rams the Lady Bears played a very close contest, but this time, it was the Lady Bears who made the key plays.

The Rams took the loss in spite of a solid effort at both ends of the court. The Rams shot a solid 32.4% (22-of-68) from the floor while holding Shaw to shooting just 36.8% (21-of-57) from the floors. WSSU senior Trei Torain and junior center Kandace Tate both scored 12 points each while junior forward Briana Arnold led the Rams' rebounding effort, pulling in a team-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Brionna Pate added eight points with seven rebounds.  

The Rams opened the game on a high note with a commanding first half. The Rams kicked things off with a strong first quarter. The team opened the game with a 10-4 lead after a jumper from junior guard Tiana Edwards gave the Rams an early lead. The Rams' largest lead of the quarter came when senior forward Trei Torain hit a three-pointer with 2:16 left and put the team on top, 17-9. The Rams allowed another Shaw score to finish the quarter with the Rams on top, 17-11.

The shoe was on the other foot for the Rams in the second quarter as Shaw controlled much of the quarter. After a lay-up from Pate left the Rams on top, 19-13 with 8:20 left in the quarter, the Rams allowed 11 unanswered points to the Lady Bears and fell behind, 24-19 with 6:09 left in the quarter. The Rams capped the quarter on a high note with a 9-3 run with freshman guard Taniya Dunn hitting a three-pointer at the 1:19 mark to finish the quarter with a 28-27 halftime lead.

The Rams broke out for a better scoring output in the third quarter, but it was negated by some defensive struggles. The Rams got off to a slow start, falling behind, 37-32 with 7:36 left in the quarter. The Rams fell behind by as many as eight points before staging a nine-point run to regain the lead, 43-42 after a pair of free throws from senior center Taylor Boyd with 3:39 left in the quarter. The two teams bounced back and forth trading the lead before a Tate free throw pulled the Rams to within two points 48-50 with 00:02 left in the quarter.

The fourth quarter was another battle between the two teams, but in the end, the Rams ran out of gas in the tough loss. The Rams got the quarter started with a slow start, falling behind 54-64 with just over four minutes left to play. The Rams clamped down on defense, holding the Lady Bears without a field goal for the remaining four minutes of the game. However, the team could not quite muster the offense to take advantage of it as they managed just six points of their own as an Arnold lay-up with seven seconds left sealed the loss.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 12-11 overall and 8-5 in CIAA play. More importantly, the Rams fall into second place in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division. 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.