WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (9-10, 4-6 CIAA) held off an aggressive Johnson C. Smith (12-7, 4-4 CIAA) to take a 83-75 win and claimed second place in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division, Saturday afternoon. After claiming an early lead, the Rams made several clutch plays in the final minutes to take the key division victory.

The Rams took the win behind a hot shooting performance in the game. As a team, the Rams shot a scorching hot 519% (28-of-54) in the game while holding off the Golden Bulls who shot 41.0% (25-of-61) in the game. WSSU junior forward Brionna Pate led the way for the Rams with 20 points and seven rebounds in the game. She led four Rams to reach double-digit scoring in the game. Freshman guard Teara Johnson added 15 points while senior guard Tiana Edwards added 14 points. Sophomore guard Jahlia Williams rounded out the effort with 10 points.

The Rams opened the game with a great offensive effort to take a first half lead. The team was slow out the gate, but soon, the Rams kicked things into gear to take control of the game.  After falling behind 8-3, the Rams bounced back to tie the game 8-8 after an Edwards lay-up with 6:52 left to play before a Pate three-pointer gave the Rams their first lead of the game, 11-10 with 4:35 left in the quarter. From there, the Rams cruised to take a 24-17 lead at the end of the quarter. The second quarter saw the Rams fending off a rally by the Golden Bulls, but the Rams matched them at every turn. The Rams' lead was cut down to as few as six points, 35-29 with 3:09 left in the second quarter, but the Rams kept their lead at 10 points, 41-31 with 00:24 left. From there, the Rams kept their lead at 43-32 at halftime.

The second half saw another terrific effort by the Rams to hold off a furious comeback effort by the Golden Bulls. Johnson C. Smith opened the half on fire as they outscored the Rams 12-2 to pull to cut the WSSU lead down to just one point, 45-44 with 5:41 left in the third quarter. The Rams kept their lead and pushed it to as many as eight points, 55-47 after a lay-up from senior center Kandace Tate with 2:34 left in the third quarter. In the final minutes of the quarter, Johnson C. Smith staged a furious comeback effort to leave the Rams on top, 55-53 at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was a thrilling one with the Rams matching the Golden Bulls' intensity at every turn to claim the victory. The Rams held their lead until JCSU tied the game 57-57 with 8:39 left. The Rams found themselves trailing for the first time since the first quarter when a JCSU lay-up left the Rams trailing, 63-62 midway through the quarter. The Rams and the Golden Bulls continued to trade leads until the two teams stood tied, 73-73 with just over a minute left to play. In the final minute, the Rams made several clutch plays including a key rebound and lay-up from Pate and four free throws from Williams that keyed the Rams' 83-75 victory.

With the win, the Rams improve to 9-10 overall and 4-6 in CIAA play. More importantly, the team improves to 3-1 in CIAA Southern Division play and into second place in the division. The Rams will return to action, Saturday when the team heads to nearby Salisbury, N.C. to take on the Livingstone College Blue Bears. 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.