BOWIE, Md. — Bowie State (1-0) defeated Shepherd (0-1) 69-63 on Friday inside A.C. Jordan Arena after using an 11-0 first-quarter run to move from four points down to seven ahead. The Bulldogs finished with a 61-41 rebounding advantage, including 22 offensive boards, and scored 34 points in the paint.
Malaka Cobb opened the scoring, but Cassidy Rhodes hit two early 3-pointers to put Shepherd ahead 6-2. The Bulldogs answered with an 11-0 run from 7:48 to 5:02, with Chaniya Taylor providing three baskets and a free throw, Kristin Sterling scoring off a Cobb assist and Cobb adding two free throws to make it 13-6. Shepherd closed back to 13-12 behind Rhodes and Samiyah Nasir, before Sterling scored on an offensive rebound and Cobb finished off Ca'Asia Brown's steal and assist to keep Bowie State ahead 17-14. Alexis Smothers' two free throws made it 17-16, Cobb split two free throws at :38, and Kara Wehner made two technical free throws at the same timestamp to tie the game before the quarter ended 18-18.
To start the second period, Mayah Garner provided an offensive rebound and layup at 8:47 made it 20-18, and Jayla Tucker added a layup to move the Bulldogs to 22-18. Shepherd stayed within reach through baskets by Vilte Kacerauskaite, Jenna Liska and Summer Shackelford, but Ca'Asia Brown scored inside and added two free throws before Garner's second-chance layup gave BSU a 28-24 edge. Cassidy Rhodes hit a jumper for the Rams, Garner answered with two free throws, and after Liska's layup made it 30-28, Gabriella Clary and Madison Byrd combined to go 4-for-4 at the line around a pair of Kacerauskaite free throws. The Bulldogs closed the quarter ahead 34-30.
In the beginning of the third, Garner hit two free throws at 9:24 to put the Bulldogs ahead 36-30, but the Rams came back with layups from Jenna Liska and Vilte Kacerauskaite to cut the margin to 36-34 before Clary answered with a jumper. Samiyah Nasir later pulled Shepherd within 38-36 at 5:03, and BSU responded with Brown's two free throws and a Garner layup off a Sterling assist to move in front 42-36. Garner added another inside basket after an offensive rebound, and after Nasir made a 3-pointer, Bowie State got two free throws from Brown and two from Taylor Timms to build a 48-39 lead. Garner scored again at 1:05, Sterling added a late free throw after blocking a shot, and the Bulldogs finished the quarter ahead 51-40.
Shepherd started the fourth quarter by turning a BSU turnover into a Cassidy Rhodes 3-pointer at 9:36, cutting the Bulldogs' lead to 51-43, but Cobbs and Ca'Asia Brown scored around a Jenna Liska layup to keep BSU in front 55-45. Liska scored off two offensive rebounds and added a free throw, and Trinity Turner's layup brought Shepherd within 57-53 at 5:21. Clary made a free throw and later scored after two Bulldogs offensive rebounds, Garner followed a miss with a layup, and Sydney Anthony added a layup at 3:38 after Garner's steal to push the score to 64-53. Kara Wehner brought Shepherd within 65-60 on a 3-pointer at 1:35 and added two free throws at :18 to make it 67-63, but Clary's steal at :03 and Sterling's two free throws at :02 finished BSU's 69-63 win.
Garner scored 17 points and collected 17 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. Sterling finished with 15 rebounds, three blocks and nine points. Brown added 10 points, seven rebounds and converted 6 of 6 free throws. Cobbs tallied nine points, two steals and two assists.
Bowie State will return to its home court Saturday at 2 p.m. for a matchup against East Stroudsburg to conclude the Tip-Off Classic.
For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State Athletics and its 14 varsity sport teams, please visit BSUBulldogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on social media.
