Box Score (BOWIE, Md.)  The Lady Bulldogs missed a golden opportunity against Livingstone College, allowing the Blue Bears to escape with a 65-64 victory over the Lady Bulldogs. 

“Tonight's game was true example of growth and development”, said first-year Bowie State head coach Renard Smith.  “We have to be able to finish out a game and we can't be made about the effort put forth by the players.”

Bowie State (1-12 / 1-5 CIAA) came out strong, jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead, but after a timeout by the Blue Bears, Livingstone went on a 7-0 run and took its first lead of the game at 9-8 with 11:45 left in the first half.  The Lady Bulldogs responded with a 5-0 run to back up 13-9.

Livingstone battled back to tie the game at 15-15, but the Lady Bulldogs made yet another run to regain their lead.  Bowie State led by as much as seven points with 2:03 left, but a three-pointer by Kelcyn Manurs and a buzzer-beating layup by Jasmine Murray got the Blue Bears within 29-27 at the break.

The Blue Bears came out strong to start the second half, grabbing the first four points to take a 31-29 edge over the Lady Bulldogs.  Bowie State came back to take a 34-31 advantage, but three pointers by Manurs and Kendra McKinney gave Livingstone a 37-36 lead with 16:07 left in the contest.

Following the slim, one-point edge for the Blue Bears, Bowie State went on an 8-0 run to open a 44-37 lead with 14:22 to play.  Livingstone responded with a 9-2 run of its own to knot the game up again at 46-46 with 11:33 on the clock.

Over the next six minutes, neither team managed more than a two-point lead, and as the clock ticked under five minutes to play the Bowie State led 60-57.  Livingstone battled to take a one-point lead with 4:01 to play and with 2:13 to play, Manurs put the Blue Bears up 65-62.  After the Manurs' bucket, the Blue Bears didn't score another point.

As the clock hit one minute to play, the Lady Bulldogs went to the free-throw line.  Junior Jasmine Jacobs hit 1-of-2 free throws to get within 65-63.  After Livingstone turned the ball over with 17 seconds left, senior Juliette Turner was fouled with five seconds to go.  Turner missed the first free throw but converted the second and trailed 65-64.
 
Bowie State had to foul to extend the game, but unfortunately the Blue Bears weren't anywhere near the bonus.  After three consecutive fouls, Elicia Gilliam-Washington went to the line to shoot a 1-and-1.  Her first attempt was an air ball which gave the Lady Bulldogs the ball out of bounds with 0.8 seconds on the clock.  The inbounds play worked almost to perfection for the Lady Bulldogs as a three-quarters court pass found an open Turner who had a credible look at the basket, but the shot fell short and the Blue Bears survived.

Stella Holloway finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.  Manurs added a team-high 17 points while Jasmine Murray scored 15 points and grabbed seven boards.

Livingstone (6-10 / 2-3 CIAA) connected on 41.8 percent of its attempts from the field including 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.  The Blue Bears only attempted 13 free throws for the contest, converting five.  Livingstone dominated the offensive glass, pulling down 22 offensive rebounds that translated into 26 second-chance points.

Three Bowie State players scored in double figures with Turner leading the way with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds.  Sophomore Brooke Miles and junior Cortney Baynard chipped in 13 points each.  Jacobs was Bowie State leader in assists with six and added eight points and eight rebounds.

Bowie State will hit the road again for two games in three days.  The Lady Bulldogs travel to Chowan University on Saturday (January 21st) and Elizabeth City State University next Monday (January 23rd).