|
Box Score 2 By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
Lady Wildcats Basketball (Lady Wildcats 78, Lady Panthers 65)
As the Lady Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) entered play on Saturday night (Jan. 29th) in the Epps Gymnasium at Clark Atlanta University, they were looking to cap a perfect week of play. With wins over Miles and LeMoyne-Owen Colleges during the week, a win tonight over the Lady Panthers of Clark Atlanta University (CAU) would give FVSU three consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) wins.
Facing a Lady Panther team that was 5-9, the Lady Wildcat full court pressure defense sent some early shock waves into the Epps Gymnasium as the Lady Panthers committed 16 first half turnovers. Those turnovers combined with a 34 to 28 rebounding edge for the Lady Wildcats enabled FVSU to take a 17 point lead with 4:16 left in the first half. However, the Lady Panthers utilized the final minutes of the first half to cut the Lady Wildcat lead to 37-26 at the intermission.
The Lady Wildcats wasted little time re-building their lead in the second half. At the 15:28 mark, the FVSU lead was up to 19 points, 53-34. Despite the lead, the Lady Panthers tried to chip away at the deficit. At the 9:51 mark, the FVSU lead was down to 10 points, 59-49.
The 10-point FVSU cushion was still in tact with 7:35 remaining. However, after a 13-5 FVSU scoring run, the Lady Wildcat lead was up to 16 points, 70-54, with 4:54 left.
In the end, the Lady Wildcats proved simply too much for CAU. The final score: FVSU 78, CAU 65. The win elevates the Lady Wildcats overall record to 14-6 and 12-2 in conference play. The Lady Panthers fall to 5-13 overall and 5-9 in SIAC action.
To counter the 34 point effort by CAU's Cornisha Hicks, the Lady Wildcats had five players to score in double figures. Jasmine Birdsong led FVSU with 19 points and nine rebounds. Yasheeka Jones and Kendra Evans finished with 13 points each. Brandi Haynes added 11 points while Kadeidra Freeland tossed in 10 points.
The win wraps up a week in which the Lady Wildcats collected three conference wins. “We were in Memphis on Thursday and only had a couple of hours of practice yesterday,” said Head Coach Lonnie Bartley. We were tired and it showed as we made too many mistakes and gave up too many points. We were, however, able to run the floor, which is what we wanted to do, and in the end it worked out.”
“It's difficult on the road,” said point guard Yasheeka Jones. “It's difficult because you have to deal with hostile crowds. Tonight was no different. On the road all we have is ourselves. That's our motivation.”
Wildcats Basketball (Panthers 65, Wildcats 51)
In men's action, it would be a very tall order for the 5-12 Wildcats to defeat the 9-4 Panthers of CAU. With CAU among the top three teams in the conference, FVSU would have to play almost flawless basketball to contend with the Panthers.
With 13:35 left in the game's first 20 minutes, the Wildcats appeared on tract to a solid performance. Leading 11-9, the early pace and the rims in the Epps Gym favored FVSU. At the 8:58 mark, the Wildcat lead had grown to 19-11.
As the first half drew to a close, while the FVSU lead shrank, they still maintained the edge at intermission. With a 32-26 halftime lead, the Wildcats managed to quiet the partisan crowd and take the game's momentum into the locker room.
Shooting 47% from the floor and committing just four turnovers, the Wildcats answered the challenge in the first 20 minutes by playing sound basketball. The only question now was whether they could duplicate that effort in the second half.
The answer to that question started to unfold near the 16 minute mark. With only two points scored by the Wildcats since the start of the second half, the Panthers took their first lead of the second half, 35-34. At the 11:15 mark, CAU had extended that lead to 43-36. A FVSU time out with 9:38 remaining found the Wildcats trailing 47-38.
With just 10 points of scoring in the second half, the Wildcats saw their deficit grow larger as the Panthers continued to get on track in scoring. With 4:17 left, CAU led 56-42.
However, a late push by the Wildcats made things interesting with less than four minutes remaining. At the 3:10 mark, the CAU lead was seven points, 59-46. With possession of the basketball, the Wildcats could cut the lead even further. Instead, a missed three point shot and an ensuing foul allowed CAU extend its lead to 60-46.
CAU would hold on to win the game 65-51 and take its season record to 10-4 and 9-3 in SIAC play. The loss drops FVSU to 5-13 and 5-9 in conference action.
The Wildcats are back in action on Tuesday in Atlanta, Ga. (men only) when they meet the Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College. Tip off from the Frank Forbes Arena is 7:30 p.m.
-Wildcats Athletics-
