shaw REIGNs FOR ANOTHER RING!
Lady Bears Crowned CIAA Champions For Fifth Time in Six Seasons
final statistics
March 1, 2008
– Charlotte, NC – The
No. 1 seeded Shaw University Lady Bears denied the hometown team, the
No. 3 seeded Johnson C. Smith University Lady Golden Bulls, their chance to
win the CIAA Championship in their own backyard. Shaw took to their throne
after taking down JCSU with a 61 – 50 triumph. Of the last six seasons of
the CIAA Women’s Basketball Championships, Head Coach Jacques Curtis
and the Lady Bears have claimed five crowns.
In the first half of play, both offenses stumbled to stand upright as Shaw shot 39.4% (13 of 33) from the field and JCSU made nine of 24 shot attempts for a 37.5% field goal percentage. In addition, the Lady Bears and the Lady Golden Bulls tallied three three-pointers each. Shaw was credited with some breathing room after, around the 10:49 mark, the Lady Bears struck up a 7 – 0 run to take their largest lead of 11 points, 20 – 9. However, JCSU jolted back to be within two points, 20 – 18, after senior guard #42 Shemika Jones scored seven points of a 9 – 0 scoring run. The Lady Golden Bulls stepped even closer with a made three-pointer just inside the six minute mark to trail 22 – 21. The Lady Bears increased the intensity of their defense and put their offense in overdrive as they scored 18 points in the paint and 11 points off turnovers. Shaw hailed at halftime with a 32 – 29 lead.
Competition remained to be chokingly close at the start of the second half. At the 17:20 mark, JCSU’s senior guard Ashley Chase tickled the twine from behind the arc to escort the Lady Golden Bulls once again within one, 39 – 38 Shaw. The Lady Bears shot 40% (eight of 20) from the field, but it was their defense that set them apart. Shaw exemplified shutdown defense as they harassed the “home team” to undergo almost a ten minute scoring drought. A frequent result of Shaw’s hasty defensive pressure was JCSU being charged with 24-clock violations. As for the Lady Bears, they waltzed on a 10 – 0 scoring run to lead 53 – 40. The taste of victory tap danced on the tip of their tongues as Shaw secured the triumph sinking five of six attempted free throws in the final seconds.
Shaw was led in scoring by senior shooting guard #25 Jamie Goshen as shot an errorless 100% (six of six) from the charity stripe in route to a game-high 13 points. Providing additional scoring was senior forward/center #34 Nicky Souter as she tallied a double double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and freshman point guard #11 Shana Andrus also scored 12 points.
The Lady Bears were the recipients of several honors at the conclusion of championship competition. Chesapeake, VA native Goshen was honored as Food Lion’s Championship Game MVP as junior shooting guard #33 Celanese Bozeman was tagged has the Tournament MVP. In addition, Shaw had three student-athletes selected for the 2008 CIAA Women’s All-Tournament Team. They were as followed: Jamie Goshen, Shana Andrus, and Celanese Bozeman.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SHAW UNIVERSITY LADY BEARS!
