Box Score CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A furious fourth-quarter rally wasn't enough to overcome a 15-point deficit, and the Winston-Salem State women's basketball team lost to Johnson C. Smith 94-88 in Charlotte Wednesday night. The game was a battle for first place in CIAA Southern Division. The Golden Bulls improved to 4-0 in the division while WSSU dropped to 2-2. The Rams are 8-7 overall.
Amaya Tucker broke out of a scoring slump and connected on 10-13 field goals to lead the Rams with 24 points. Melody Prichard, who scored her 1,000th point at WSSU, added 21, including 11-13 at the free-throw line. Brooke Spaulding hit four of six three-pointers to finish with 18 points.
JCSU led by five points after the first quarter and took a 42-34 halftime lead. 'SU was down by 17 points with 3:05 remaining in the third quarter.
The Rams opened the final 10 minutes on an 11-2 scoring run that sliced Smith's lead to 70-61 with 7:46 to play. Tucker, who hit 4-6 from beyond the arc, connected with 7:14 to play and Kyree Hall's free throw cut the Bulls' lead to 74-68 with 6:26 to go.
Prichard's jumper with 3:26 to play kept the Rams within six points. The Bulls hit two jump shots and a free throw to lead by nine with 2:26 to play. O'Shae Hatley's jump shot with 1:57 to go kept the Rams within striking distance at 85-78.
Spaulding connected on back-to-back three-pointers, slicing JCSU's lead to four points with 1:03 to play. Smith hit four of five free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
WSSU had one of its best shooting nights of the season. The Rams shot 53.3% from the field, 52.9% from the three-point line, and 83.3% from the free-throw line. JCSU shot 60% from the floor and 20-23 free throws for 87%.
The Rams return to action on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against Livingstone at the C.E. Gaines Center. They will face Bowie State for a 5:30 game Monday night at the Gaines Center.
