Shaw tip-toes past lady trojans
Lady Bears Survive Shaky Start
to Secure Fifth Consecutive CIAA Contest
January 15, 2007 – Petersburg, VA – The Shaw University Lady Bears visited Daniel Gymnasium to take on the Lady Trojans of Virginia State University. The wintry temperatures in VSU’s home court arena proved to have an evident effect as Shaw shot just 16.1% (5 of 31) from the field in the first half. Nevertheless, the Lady Bears overcame the adverse atmosphere to slip away with the 41 – 37 triumph over the Lady Trojans.
The opening tip-off was projected in to the possession of #3 Tanisha McGaughey (Guard / 5 – 11 / Sophomore / Norfolk, VA). The talented returner scored on two of the Lady Bears’ next three offensive possessions to levitate Shaw with a 6 – 2 lead. At the 12:45 mark, the Lady Trojans pulled within one point , 6 – 5 Shaw, after #33 Leilani LeGrand made a lay-up and then the free-throw after being fouled on the play. Shortly thereafter, LeGrand galloped ahead of the Shaw defense to catch a fast break pass from #3 Katania Walker. The quick two gifted VSU with their first lead of the game, 7- 6. Shaw snatched the lead back 9 – 7 with a “high bounce and in” three-pointer by #21 NaKeisha Anthony (Guard / Forward / 5 – 11 / Senior / Charlotte, NC). VSU’s LeGrand parted Shaw’s sea of defense once again to deposit two points just as time on the shot clock expired. CIAA Women’s Coach of the Week Head Coach Jacques Curtis called for a thirty second timeout at the 8:34 mark as two made free throws and a three-pointer positioned VSU with an eight point lead, 17 – 9 VSU. With 3:38 remaining in the first half, McGaughey cruised to the charity stripe to tickle the twine with three of four attempted free-throws. The Lady Bears trailed by three, 17 – 14 VSU. The score halted at 17 – 14 into halftime as all attempted field goals on behalf of both participating parties in the remainder behalf were unsuccessful.
It could be almost definite the Lady Bears were begging to break out of the locker room to improve on their frost bitten first half field goal of percentage of 16.1%. However, the second half did not start in favor of that concept as the Lady Trojans shocked a somewhat hibernating Lady Bears defense with four scores and two free throws compared to Shaw’s two made free throws by McGaughey. Five minutes and a half minutes into the half and the Lady Bears still did not successfully convert on a field goal. It was not until the 14:09 mark when Anthony posed behind the arc to drench the nets with a three-pointer. Soon thereafter, the Lady Bears began to thaw their ice-filled fingertips as Anthony reappeared to torch the nets with two three-pointers and to toss in an in the paint putback. The home team called for a sixty seconds breather at the 9:07 mark as Shaw’s scoring spurt escorted them to be within seven of the Lady Trojans, 33 – 26 VSU. The Lady Bears’ offensive locomotive began to chug out of clouds of smoke as #34 Nicky Souter (Forward / Center / 6 – 2/ Senior / Brooklyn, NY) took possession of two offensive rebounds and propelled in two critical putbacks to tie the score 33 – 33 at the 5:23 mark. Head Coach James Hill called for a timeout. Indeed the tension tightened to a suffocating degree. VSU unloosened the knot to go ahead by two, but Shaw would re-take the lead 37 – 35 with 1:35 left in the game after “All-Star” Anthony inserted a dagger in the heart of VSU’s offense with two determined drives that resulted in two scores. Shaw’s #15 Tammy Lanier (Guard / 5 – 6 / Freshman / Atlanta, GA) and McGaughey nailed two consecutive free throws each to seal the success.
Leading the Lady Bears in scoring was #21 NaKeisha Anthony with a game high 15 points (ten rebounds / one block / one steal). With her double double, Anthony amazing produced 12 of her 15 points solely in the second half. Providing additional scoring was #3 Tanisha McGaughey with a game high 14 points (seven rebounds / three steals). The “paws – down” dominating leader on the boards was none other than #34 Nicky Souter as she grabbed 10 offensive rebounds for a game high total 15 rebounds.
The Shaw University Lady Bears will return to Raleigh as they will play against Saint Augustine’s College Lady Falcons on Saturday, January 19, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. The competition will take place in Broughton High School Gymnasium.
