BOX SCORE
(RALEIGH, N.C.) In a game marked by good defense, poor shooting, and turnovers, the Shaw women's basketball team sprinted to an 11-2 lead in the opening minutes, then held off a persistent Bowie State squad for a 53-46 victory.
Shaw (8-1, 5-1 in the CIAA) had three players in double figures, led by Tanisha McGaughey with 16 points.
Bowie State (4-4, 4-2 CIAA) never found a shooting touch – hitting only 28 percent from the floor and 57 percent from the line. Shaw seldom let them get a second shot, out-rebounding the Lady Bulldogs 50-38.
A combination of strong defense and sloppy play led to a total of 53 turnovers in the game – 30 for Shaw and 23 for Bowie State.
Shaw jumped to an early 11-2 lead, but both teams started turned up the defensive pressure which kept shooting percentages low and turnover numbers high.
Between them, the teams had 29 turnovers in the first half – 16 for Shaw and 13 for Bowie State. Neither team had much success finding the bottom of the net. Shaw shot only 31 percent on the half, while the Lady Bulldogs hit only 23 percent.
The Lady Bear's only large advantage came on the boards as they collected 28 rebounds in the first half alone – 11 more than BSU. This gave Shaw a five-point advantage on second chance points, nearly mirroring the six-point halftime lead, 23-17.
Bowie State opened the second half with a scoring run of their own, hitting a bucket and a three to cut the Shaw lead to only one. McGaughey hit a bucket and Quaticqua Johnson hit a three to extend the Shaw lead to six.
The two teams battled evenly for most of the second half. A Janelle Harrison layup with 7:55 left gave the Lady Bears their largest lead, 41-32.
Over the next five minutes, the Lady Bulldogs chipped away at the lead. Teaunsha Robinson (Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Polytechnic) hit a jumper for BSU with 1:47 left to cut the Shaw lead to three, but Johnson responded with a three, extending the Lady Bear lead and bringing the partisan crowd to its feet.
With 40 seconds left in the game, Bowie State got the ball, and suffered through another bout of bad shooting, missing two attempts at threes, and another layup off a rebound before Jan'el Baxter got the rebound for the Lady Bears. She was immediately fouled with 9.2 seconds on the clock. Her free throw put the final score at 53-46.
In addition to McGaughey's 16, the Lady Bears got 11 from both Harrison and Johnson. Baxter led Shaw with 11 rebounds, while Johnson had four assists to lead the team.
For Bowie State, Bianca Lee (Temple Hills, MD, Archbishop Carroll) had a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds. She was the only Lady Bulldog in double figures.
The Bowie State Lady Bulldogs return to action on Saturday (January 9), hosting new CIAA member Chowan University. Game time is 5:30 p.m. in BSU's A.C. Jordan Arena.
