Recognizing the importance of tonight's game, the Lady Wildcats wasted little time in setting the tone for the game.  After 20 minutes of play, FVSU held a 40-19 lead.  The key to the 21 point differential was the intense defense of the Lady Wildcats which led to 23 first half turnovers by the Lady Lions.  The difficulty in handling the FVSU defensive pressure also had an adverse effect on the Lady Lions half court offense.   Paine shot a dismal 20% from the floor in the first half; converting just five field goals on 24 shots. 

In the first half of play the rims were favorable for the Lady Wildcats in the Richmond Academy gymnasium.  FVSU made 18 of 44 shots before intermission.  The Lady Wildcats offense also benefitted from its defensive play.  Fifteen first half steals and a two-to-one rebounding edge (30/15) allowed the Lady Wildcats several uncontested scoring opportunities.
As play resumed in the second half, the Lady Lions attacked the Lady Wildcat lead.  With 5:13 remaining, the Lady Lions managed to cut the deficit to 10 points (55-45).  The 26-15 run by the Lady Lions forced a time out by FVSU.

After the time out, the Lady Wildcats got two quick baskets off of turnovers and the lead was 59-45 with 4:41 left. That quashed the rally by Paine College. When the final horn blew, the Lady Wildcats came away winners 70-51. The much needed win by the Lady Wildcats extended the FVSU record to 9-4 overall and 7-2 in conference play. 

Four Lady Wildcats scored in double figures. Point guard Yasheeka Jones finished with 14 points and five assists.  She also had a game-high eight steals. Jasmine Birdsong's return to the Lady Wildcat line-up was a good one as she finished with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.   Dominique Collier and Carmenonique Dawson had 11 and 10 points respectively.

FVSU is back in action on Saturday, January 14^th, at 1 p.m. when they travel to Columbia, South Carolina for a conference match-up with the Lady Tigers of Benedict College.