CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Bowie State women's basketball team overcame a slow start and pulled away in the second half as they defeated Shaw University, 73-47 in Tuesday's opening round game at the CIAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the Bojangles Coliseum
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The Bulldogs, the #3 seed from the north division, improve to 23-4 while the Bears, the #6 seed from the south division, conclude their season with a 6-21 record.  Bowie State advances to the quarterfinal game on Thursday where they will face Johnson C. Smith University, the #2 seed from the south division.  The game will tipoff around 3:00 p.m. at the Spectrum Center.

Kyaja Williams led the Bulldogs with 22 points, 13 rebounds and six steals.  Shankia McCallum added 16 points while Drew Calhoun chipped in 13.

Dejoria Howard led the Bears with 22 points.  Ariana Fleming added 11 points and six steals.  Howard and Amani Moxley had five rebounds apiece to lead the Bears.

Shaw scored the first nine points of the contest before Williams broke the run with a layup, triggering a 10-2 run to pull the Bulldogs within one 11-10. Fleming scored their last two Shaw baskets of the quarter to extend the Bears lead to four 15-11.

Williams gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game, 17-16 with a layup at the 5:52 mark of the second quarter, capping off a 6-1 run by the Bulldogs.  Howard countered with a three-point basket to reclaim the lead for the Bears, 19-17 with 5:35 remaining.  Bowie State came back with a 10-3 run to take their biggest lead at 27-22 with just 1:06 left in the quarter.  The Bears however battled back, scoring the final four points of the period to trail by one at the break 27-26.

Bowie State turned up the defense in the first five minutes of the third quarter, forcing seven turnovers and producing a 14-4 run to take a 41-30 lead heading into the media timeout.  Williams (five points, two steals) and Dynaisha Christian (four points) were the catalysts in the Bulldog run.  Shaw cut the lead to seven before Bowie State closed out the quarter with a 5-0 run to take a 48-36 lead heading into the final ten minutes of action.

The Bulldogs continued to pull away in the fourth quarter, extending their lead to as many as 28 points before closing out the game with the 73-47 win. Bowie State will take on Johnson C. Smith on Thursday (2/27) at 3 p.m. in the Spectrum Center.