January 22, 2008 – Raleigh, NC – The Shaw University Lady Bears tangoed with the Lady Tigers of Saint Paul’s College. The Lady Bears led by as many as 14 points and held on to tally the 68 – 65 triumph.

The tip-off was not tapped into the possession of any particular player. Yet the opening loose ball was scooped up by the Lady Tigers’ #15 Titiana Ellis for the quick lay-up. SPC went up by two possessions after a Lady Bear turnover and another drive and drain by the Lady Tigers. Shaw tallied its first two points to the scoreboard after a fast break bucket by #3 Tanisha “Make It Rain” McGaughey (Guard / 5 – 11 / Sophomore / Norfolk, VA). At the 13:45 mark, Shaw knotted the score at 8 – 8 with two made free throws by #25 Jamie “Go-To-Guru” Goshen (Guard / 6 – 0 / Senior / Chesapeake, VA) and a short jumper by #21 NaKeisha “All Day” Anthony (Guard / Forward / 5 – 10 / Senior / Charlotte, NC). SPC would scurry away on an 8 – 0 scoring run after #14 Juantale Cook buried back to back behind the arc baskets and then a lay-up by #42 Katrina Wright. Although, SPC maintained a steady stream of offensive production, the Lady Bears turned up their low temperature offense after Anthony awed the opposing defense with consecutive three-pointers. On Shaw’s very next possession, Anthony released a dandy dish to #52 KeyAuna Jenkins (Forward / 6 – 0 / Junior / Cleveland, OH) for the lay-up just prior to retuning on the following play to tickle the twine with her third three-pointer. Shaw sliced their six point deficit completely in half after #33 Celanese Bozeman (Guard / 5 – 9 / Junior / Hampton, VA) bucketed a basket from three-point territory. Shaw trailed 24 – 21 with 9:00 remaining in the first half. Shortly thereafter, Goshen made a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 26 – 26 with 3:54 on the game clock. Goshen lifted the Lady Bears to their first lead, 28 – 26, after she dashed by her defender to flush the nets with a floater. Shaw led by four points after McGaughey lofted a pass to Goshen as she rained in a long range jumper. The Lady Tigers pounced back within one, 30 – 29 Shaw, with a two-pointer and sinking one of two attempted free throws. Nevertheless, Shaw stepped into halftime with a 35 – 31.

At the start of the second half, Shaw picked up right where they left off. The Lady Bears brushed back the Lady Tigers with a 6 – 0 start to birth a double digit lead. The visiting head coach quickly flagged down a nearby official to request a timeout. The sixty second breather may have oxygenated the Lady Tigers, but did not in the least cause an infraction in the Lady Bears’ tempo. Goshen and Anthony continued to be a powerful one-two punch for the Lady Bears as they distracted the defense with their dribbling dexterity and then swooshed the nets with plentiful production. With 11 minutes remaining, SPC sunk in the shadows of Shaw, 48 – 34. However, the Lady Tigers rocked Shaw to sleep with their swift passing drill and persistent push to propel the basketball inside for post production. Before the Lady Bears could blink twice, Shaw’s sizeable 14 point lead was minimized to a slim three points, 48 – 45. Shaw scooted out on another unanswered scoring run, but inside the two minute mark, SPC’s surge back was capped with a three-pointer by Wright. Shaw led 63 – 61. Head Coach Jacques Curtis called for a timeout after Goshen bucketed a baseline basket. SPC attempted a comeback, but the Lady Bears sunk three of four attempted free throws in the closing seconds to secure the win.

The Lady Bears were led in scoring by #25 Jamie Goshen as she had a game high 19 points (two rebounds / one block / one assist). Providing additional scoring was #21 NaKeisha Anthony with 13 points (eight rebounds / four assists / one steal).  As usual, Queen of the Boards was none other than #34 Nicky Souter (Forward / Center / 6 – 0 / Senior / Brooklyn, NY) as she collected a game high 10 rebounds (eight points).