march 14, 2008 – Florence, SC – The Shaw University Lady Bears were selected to be the home team in their first round rendezvous with the Augusta State University Lady Jaguars. Although, the Lady Bears surged into the second half to lead by as many as five points, Shaw was stopped short of continuing on to the Semifinals as ASU defeated the Lady Bears, 88 – 70. The Lady Bears record now stands at 21 – 12 Overall.  

The Lady Bears took possession of the opening tip-off and were credited with their first and last lead of the first half after #11 Shana Andrus (Guard / 6 – 0 / Junior / Akron, OH) made a lay-up and the free-throw after being fouled on the play. From that point, ASU accelerated out in front by as many as 12 points. The Lady Jaguars point margin was largely due to them sinking seven of 16 attempted three-pointers (43.8%). Shaw stayed alive as they shot a fair 45.7% (16 of 35) from the field and totaled 36 bench points. Despite ASU’s sizeable lead, the Lady Bears maintained firm focus to strike up a three minute 14 – 4 scoring run and be within as little as two, 38 – 36 ASU, with 1:28 on the game clock. However, just prior to intermission, ASU deposited their final three-pointer of the half to lead 41 – 36.

In the second half, Shaw heightened their level of intensity on both the offensive and defensive sides of the basketball. Six ties occurred in the second half alone before Shaw broke away from their opponents to take their largest lead of five points, 61 – 56, with 12:29 left in the contest. Unfortunately, the Lady Jaguars tailgated a bit too closely as they resurfaced three minutes later to take a 64 – 63 lead. Attempted shots by Shaw began to bounce off the back and front of the rim as the Lady Bears made 12 of 31 (38.7%); which included 22.2% (two of nine) from behind the arc. As for ASU, the Lady Jaguars jumped back out ahead by five, 68 – 63, with two made free-throws and another dialed in thirteen-footer. Shaw suffered significantly as they began to be charged with sequential fouls and were exasperatingly defended for their last field goal of the game to be made at the 6:26 mark.

Head Coach Jacques Curtis guided the Lady Bears to finish with three scholar-athletes in double figures. Leading all scorers was #11 Shana Andrus (Guard / 6 – 0 / Junior / Akron, OH) with a game-high 16 points (six rebounds / three assists / two blocks / four steals). Providing additional scoring was #25 Jamie Goshen (Guard / 6 – 0 / Senior / Chesapeake, VA) with 15 points (four rebounds / one assist / two steals) as #34 Nicky Souter (Forward / Center / 6 – 0 / Senior / Brooklyn, NY) tallied a double double scoring 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Congratulations to the Shaw University Lady Bears for their outstanding hard work, commitment, and success during this season!