SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Despite trailing 27-23 at halftime, Bowie State women's basketball (1-1) put together a competitive game, but the Bulldogs turnovers and inability to hit free throws proved costly down the stretch as BSU fell to Raiders of Shippensburg (2-0), 51-46 to close out the conference challenge Saturday night.
In the opening 20 minutes, the Bulldogs shot 30-percent (7-23) from the field compared to the Raiders' 22-percent (7-31), but Shippensburg held advantages in points off turnovers (14-6) and 13-of-22 shots from the free throw line which added the 3-point lead at halftime over BSU.
The second half was a similar effort for the Bulldogs, Bowie State managed to hold a scoring frame of 12-10 over the Raiders but BSU trailed 37-35 at the end of the third quarter. Shippensburg pushed its lead to seven on a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter, a four-point play from
Jayla Irvin snapped the scoring drought for BSU as her made free throw pulled the Bulldogs with 41-42 with 6:21 remaining.
Bowie State tied the game (44-44) on a second chance free throw from
Abigail Bailey but the Raiders closed out the game on a 7-2 run for the win over the Bulldogs. BSU committed 23 turnovers while Shippensburg accounted for 15 miscues.
Irvin was the top scorer for BSU with nine points, followed by
Katerra Myers and
Mia Smith with seven points, respectively. The leading defender for the Bulldogs was
Saniha Jackson with nine rebounds including four offensive.
Anii Harris and Irvin were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 16 with its home opener against Shepherd. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in A.C. Jordan Arena.
For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State University Athletics and its 13 varsity sports teams, please visit www.
bsubulldogs.com.