BOX SCORE

(BOWIE, Md.) Bowie State overcame an 11-point first half deficit and rallied to defeat Virginia State 63-59. The win improves the Lady Bulldogs record to 10-7 overall, 6-4 in the CIAA and 3-1 in the Northern Division.

Virginia State appeared to be on the verge of running Bowie State out of the arena in the first half. VSU's Lady Trojans jump out to a 10-5 advantage and doubled that lead by the 7:56 mark. Bowie State trailed by 11 twice in the first half before closing the gap to 29-25 by halftime.

Virginia State punished Bowie State in the paint in the first half, holding a 22-10 advantage, shooting 48 percent (13-of-27) from the field.

Bowie State made just nine-of-29 from the field in the first half (31 percent) but controlled the glass, holding a 24-14 advantage.

Junior Chanita Jordan (Philadelphia, PA, University City, North Carolina State) began the second half just like she began the game with a bucket for the Lady Bulldogs to pull BSU with two. Senior Lakisha Walker (Baltimore, MD, St. Frances Academy) tied the game at 31-31 then shifted the advantage over to Bowie State at the 16:52 mark of the second half via a three-point field goal.

A pair of free throws by Virginia State's Pamela Muldrow gave the lead back to the Lady Trojans with just over 13 minutes to play, but the lead was short lived.

Another trifecta by Walker on Bowie State's next possession gave the lead back to the Lady Bulldogs for good. The Bowie State lead grew to a game-high dozen (56-44) by the 6:27 mark.

The Bowie State defense forced 10 Virginia State second half turnovers which translated into 13 Lady Bulldogs points off turnovers.

Virginia State (10-6, 4-4 CIAA, 1-2 North) did manage to pull within one (60-59) with 50 seconds left in the contest after a pair of free throws by Betty Appiah.

Virginia State's field goal shooting dropped to 28 percent in the final period (10-of-36) but did out-rebound Bowie State 43-38 overall.

Appiah and Rhon'Neisha Taylor led Virginia State with 11 points each and Marquilla Evans came off the Lady Trojans bench to add 10 points. Appiah led both teams with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Walker tied her career-high of 18 points and fellow senior Brittney Jackson (Laurel, MD, Laurel) scored a career-high 17 points to lead Bowie State. Senior Brianna Taylor (Upper Marlboro, MD, Riverdale Baptist School, Cheyney) added 11 points to round out the Lady Bulldogs' double figure scorers. Junior Juliette Turner (Atlanta, GA, John F. Kennedy) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for Bowie State.

Bowie State University travels to division foe Virginia Union University for a Thursday (February 3rd) matchup at 5:30 pm.