By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
Lady Wildcats Basketball (Lady Wildcats 89, Lady Magicians 68)
In last night's (January 27th) Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) basketball match up between the Lady Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) and the Lady Magicians of Le-Moyne Owen College (LOC), the 12-6 Lady Wildcats traveled to Memphis, Tn. with every intention of giving the home team a true case of the “Memphis Blues.” With the Lady Magicians sporting a 5-11 overall record, chances were pretty good that at the end of the evening FVSU would leave a sour note in the mouth of LOC.
In the game's first 20 minutes, FVSU players harmonized pretty well. Jumping to an early lead, the Lady Wildcats never trailed in the first half and built a lead as large as 11 points with 7:48 remaining. As the half progressed, the Lady Wildcats continued to play from the same sheet of music by extending the scoring margin to 13 points, 27-14. With 5:51 left, the FVSU lead was up to 17 points, 32-15.
However, like most symphonies, there are occasional missed notes. The first half for the Lady Wildcats was no exception. With a little over two minutes left in the half, the Lady Magicians rallied to cut the FVSU lead to 12 points, 35-23. The 12 point margin would stand for remainder of the half with the Lady Wildcats taking a 37-25 lead into the locker room.
In the second half the tone was almost the same. A relentless full court defensive press and good half court offensive play enabled the Lady Wildcats to increase their lead to 50-32 at the 16:11 mark. With a time out called with 11:48 left, the FVSU lead was 63-45. At the 8:49 mark the lead had grown to 69-48.
As the game neared the five minute mark, it was clear that the only thing left was for the “The Fat Lady to start to sing.” With 4:22 left, the Lady Wildcat lead had mushroomed to 82-57 and a FVSU win was almost a certainty. With a commanding lead, the final cords of this win would be played by a band of reserve FVSU players who concluded tonight's performance in fine fashion as the Lady Wildcats claimed an 89-68 win.
Speaking of high notes, Kendra Evans finished as the game's high scorer with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Jasmine Birdsong had 14 points and seven rebounds while Yasheeka Jones, returning to the line up after an injury, finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Shytina Harley chipped in 11 points and two rebounds.
The win takes the Lady Wildcats overall record to 13-6 and 11-2 in SIAC play.
Wildcats Basketball (Magicians 86, Wildcats 62)
In men's action, if the theme of the night was music, the start of the game could best be described as a “battle of the bands.” In the game's first five minutes, each time one team scored, the other would answer right back. At the 8:30 mark, the Wildcats held a slim 17-16 lead.
However, as the half continued, the back and forth suddenly ceased and the rhythm swung in favor of LOC. After a 19-3 scoring run by the Magician, they led 36-19 with 2:26 left. Tommy Williams finally broke the Magician scoring run with a bank shot in the paint to make it a 36-21 LOC lead. At halftime, the Magicians led 37-23.
The start of the second half saw the Magician extend their lead in the first three minutes to 45-25. While the pace of the game was starting to slow, the lyrics still spoke of a comfortable LOC lead. As the Wildcats took a time out with 12:05 remaining, the Magicians led 54-31.
At the 8:46 mark, if there was a version of “The Fat Guy starting to sing,” he would have been warming up as the Magicians stretched their lead to 64-35. With both coaches now freely substituting, it became less of a question of who would win but rather more of a question of by how many. The answer to that question was 24 points, as the Magicians won, 86-62.
Jeremy Sledge led the Wildcats in scoring with 28 points. Tommy Williams added 11 points.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 5-12 overall and 5-7 in conference play. FVSU (women & men) travels to Atlanta, Ga. on Saturday, January 29th for a twin bill with the Panthers of Clark Atlanta University. The women's game will begin at 6 p.m. and the men will play at 8 p.m.
-Wildcats Athletics-
