BALTIMORE, Md.- Survive and advance.  Not only did the Winston-Salem State's women's basketball team advance, but they did it with a convincing 67-54 win over St. Augustine's on the opening day of CIAA Tournament play. The Rams advance to a 4:30 p.m. matchup with Lincoln, the tournament's #1 seed, Wednesday at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, MD.

Amaya Tucker, who was saddled with two fouls in the game's first minute, scored 10 points and contributed six assists while playing only 22 minutes. She was named the Food Lion MVP for the game.

Kennedi Simmons led the Rams with 12 points on 50% shooting from the floor.  Tyliah Burns scored 11 on 5-11 shooting. Kendra Ross, also limited to 22 minutes because of early foul trouble, and O'Shae Hatley each had eight points and five rebounds.  Hailey Gipson matched Tucker with six assists.

The Rams opened an 18-12 lead on 50% shooting after the first 10 minutes.  'SU's defense held the Falcons to seven points in the second quarter while adding 14 points on the scoreboard to claim a 32-19 lead at the half. Burns scored seven points to lead WSSU's scoring surge.

WSSU fought off several Falcons third-quarter runs.  The Rams led by 16 points, 39-23, on Simmons layup with 7:29 to play. St. Aug. cut its deficit to seven points with 3:15 remaining in the quarter.  Tucker's two free throws sent the lead to 12 points, 50-38, entering the final 10 minutes.

The Falcons would come no closer than 10 points the remainder of the game.  A Simmons layup with 2:33 left gave 'SU an insurmountable 19-point lead, the largest in the game.

WSSU finished with a healthy 49.1 shooting percentage and a 43-30 rebounding advantage. The Rams had 22 assists on 28 field goals. 

Rams fans can listen to every WSSU game in the tournament on WSNC 90.5 FM, online at wsncradio.org or on the WSNC app.