BOWIE, Md. – With the regular season drawing to a close, the Bowie State University Lady Bulldogs felt the need to capitalize on the moment by resulting in 63-51 victory over the Virginia State University Trojans. The victory snapped an 11-game slide and set the Bowie State record at 10-15 overall, 3-12 in the CIAA and 1-8 in the North.
Sophomore guards
Kiara Colston (Burtonsville, Md.) and
Kyah Proctor (Capitol Heights, Md.) led the charge with some dazzling play, poise, and leadership. Colston had a double-double to the tune of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Proctor finished with a game-high 20 points as she shot 6-of-14 from the field, which included 3-of-6 triples and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line.
Senior forward Wynterra Pittman (Graceville, Fla.) led her Trojans squad with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds. Junior guard Nandi Taylor (Flint, Mich.) finished second on the team in scoring with 14 points and played all 40 minutes. The loss puts Virginia State's season mark at 11-14, 6-9 in league play and 3-6 in the North.
The game was a close affair to start, with the Trojans showcasing good ball movement on each offensive possession and finishing by putting a few points on the board to hold a slim (14-12) lead over the Lady Bulldogs at the end of the first quarter. From the second quarter on, it was the Lady Bulldogs game to lose. Colston and Proctor stepped their game to another level, finishing with plays such as Colston finishing with a one-handed shot from the free throw line and Proctor using a crossover and a step-back to fake out a defender before draining a 3 pointer to close the third quarter and Bowie State leading 47-34.
Due to Bowie State's dominance, the Lady Trojans could barely keep up. While showing good movement of the ball in the early going, it soon would lead to tedious possessions that resulted in a couple of Virginia State shot clock violations. Furthermore, the Lady Trojans turned the ball over often and weren't shooting the ball with efficiency. Virginia State committed 10 total turnovers and shot 36.7 percent (18-of-49) from the field and just 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from the charity stripe.
Bowie State hauled down 44 total rebounds compared to only 26 for Virginia State and the very limited Lady Bulldogs bench outscored the opponents bench 14-7.
The Lady Bulldogs ended the game with a field goal shooting percentage of 34.0 percent, making 18-of-53 field goals and 23-of-25 free throws (92.0 percent).
The Lady Bulldogs will play its final regular season game on Saturday (February 20th), hosting the Elizabeth City State University Lady Vikings at 1 p.m.
