SHAW thumps vuu by thirty-four
Lady Bears Nab Ninth CIAA
Conquest
January 29, 2008 – Richmond, VA – The Shaw University Lady Bears (12 – 10 Overall / 9- 2 CIAA / 4 – 2 Division / No. 1 WEST) hit the highway for their east versus west war with the Lady Panthers of Virginia Union University (1 – 15 Overall / 1 – 10 CIAA / 1 – 3 Division / No. 4 EAST). Shaw converted 25 points off of 30 VUU turnovers, accumulated 53 bench points, and forced four Lady Panthers to foul out of the competition as they pounced on the their opponents for the 87 – 53 triumph.
Immediately after taking possession of the tip-off, Shaw scurried away for a 6 – 0 lead due a jumper by #32 Jasmine Riviera (Forward / 5 – 9 / Senior / Jacksonville, NC) and then back to back baskets by #5 Shana “Showtime” Andrus (Guard / 5 – 9 / Junior / Akron, OH). VUU’s #40 Katchona Johnson made the Lady Panthers’ first successful shot after four minutes of play. The Lady Bears built their largest lead of 11 points, 14 – 3, at the 14:02 mark when #25 Jamie “Guru” Goshen (Guard / 6 – 0 / Senior / Chesapeake, VA) flushed the nets with three straight free throws and then followed with her first successful field goal. Shaw’s lengthy lead was aided by their fair 35.7% (10 / 28) field goal percentage, but sufficiently crutched by their summer-day 76.9% (10 / 13) free throw percentage. The Lady Bears defensively dominated their opponents to commit a head turning 18 turnovers and only sink seven of 26 field goal attempts (26.9%); of which the Lady Panthers were muzzled to misfire on all seven attempts from behind the arc. Nevertheless with 2:30 left in the half, VUU chopped their double digit deficit down to as little as four points after #33 Dashia Chandler made a jumper and two of four attempted free throws. The Lady Bears surged back up by 11 and then into halftime leading 32 – 23 with four free throws by #3 Tanisha “Make It Rain” McGaughey (Guard / 5 – 11 / Sophomore / Norfolk, VA) and then a three-pointer by #33 Celanese “Sharp Shooter” Bozeman (Guard / 5 – 9 / Junior / Hampton, VA).
At the start of the second half, the Lady Panthers struck first with a jumper by Chandler. However, Shaw answered with a 7 – 0 scoring spurt. The speedy offensive production was the result of a rainbow three-pointer by Riviera and then scores by #50 Tavia Clemendor (Forward / 6 – 0 / Senior / Danville, VA) and #34 Nicky “Superwoman” Souter (Forward / Center / 6 – 0 / Senior / Brooklyn, NY). The Lady Panthers made a two pointer and two free throws, but the Lady Bears rapidly responded with two free throws and a lay-up each made by Andrus and then #21 NaKeisha Anthony (Guard / Forward / 5 – 10 / Senior / Charlotte, NC). Shaw led 47 – 29 with 14:29 on the game clock. VUU attempted on several occasions to dilute Shaw’s potent lead, but the Lady Bears magnificently managed their point margin with their burning 82.9% (24 / 29) free throw percentage. Shaw’s off and running offensive locomotive would award them with a lead as large as 34 points. Shaw proved to be equipped with ample fire power and stifling defense as they accumulated 32 bench points alone in the second half, forced 12 turnovers, and still held VUU to be scoreless from behind the arc.
Leading the Lady Bears in scoring was #25 Jamie Goshen (Guard / 6 – 0 / Senior / Chesapeake, VA) with a game high 18 points. Providing additional scoring was #5 Shana Andrus (Guard / 5 – 9 / Junior / Akron, OH) with 16 points as well as #3 Tanisha McGaughey (Guard / 5 – 11 / Sophomore / Norfolk, VA) and #33 Celanese Bozeman (Guard / 5 – 9 / Junior / Hampton, VA) each with 10 points. Queen of the boards was #11 Jessica Davis (Guard / 5 – 2 / Junior / Cleveland, OH) as she took possession of a game high eight rebounds.
The Shaw University Lady Bears will return to Raleigh as they prepare to host round two of their cross divisional dual with the Elizabeth City State University Lady Vikings on Saturday, February 2nd. The CIAA matchup is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. in C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.
