By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
The news is mixed from Claflin University tonight after an afternoon session of Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) basketball between the visiting Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) and the Claflin University Panthers. In a twin bill that was played in Claflin's Tullis Arena, the FVSU Lady Wildcats notched their sixth win of the season with a 72-54 victory over the Lady Panthers. In men's play, the Wildcats of FVSU were defeated by the Panthers, 71-58.
Lady Wildcats 72, Lady Panthers 54
In a game in which they never trailed, the Lady Wildcats shot 39% (14 of 36) from the floor in the first half and 50% (15 of 30) from the floor in the second. Overall, the FVSU shooting percentage for the game was 43.9%.
Four Lady Wildcats tallied double figure scoring for FVSU in the 18 point win. Center Jasmine Birdsong finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Forward Kendra Evans and newcomer Davina High each had 13 points. High, a freshman from Atlanta, Ga., also contributed five rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Evans cleared six rebounds in the Lady Wildcat win and she finished with five assists and three steals. In 15 minutes of play, Brandi Haynes had 10 points for FVSU.
Natalie Davis finished with 23 points for the Lady Panthers who are now 2-5 after the loss. Lasaundra Barron added 11 points.
Now winners of four straight, the Lady Wildcats are 6-3 overall and undefeated in conference play with a 4-0 mark. The final Lady Wildcats game before the Christmas break is Sunday, December 19th when they travel to Valdosta, Ga. for a Sunday afternoon contest against the Lady Blazers of Valdosta State University beginning at 3 p.m. This will be the second meeting between the schools this season. The Lady Wildcats won the Nov. 16th match up at home, 62-56.
Panthers 71, Wildcats 58
Since starting point guard Martavius Orr has been missing from the line up due to an injury in last Tuesday's game against Stillman College, the Wildcats have struggled to find offensive continuity. While the team managed to shoot 38% (21 baskets on 55 attempts) from the floor in tonight's game against Claflin, that production pales in comparison to the 65.9% shooting effort of the Panthers. On the night, Claflin converted 27 of 42 shots in the conference win with four players scoring 12 or more points.
“We obviously miss the play of Martavius and what he brings to our game,” said FVSU Head Coach John Douglas. “Without him, our game tempo slows considerably and we find ourselves playing at the tempo of our opponent. Tonight, Claflin shot so well that it was difficult to wrestle any control of the game away from them.”
Desmond Lofland led FVSU in scoring with 14 points. He also had three rebound, three assists, and five steals. Brandon Davey had 11 points, four rebounds, and one assist. while center Detrius McCall had 10 points and five rebounds.
Now with back-to-back losses, the Wildcats fall to 2-6 overall and 2-2 in SIAC play. The Wildcats are idle until the start of the 2011 portion of the schedule when they travel to Frankfort, Ky. to meet the Thorobreds of Kentucky State University on January 4th at 7:30 p.m.
-Wildcats Athletics-
