WILBERFORCE, Ohio – The Wildcats' Thursday evening comeback ran out of time. Fort Valley State battled back from a tough opening half and fell just short as Central State edged out the win, 49-46, in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball opener.
After trailing by a baker's dozen at half, FVSU (1-1/0-1 SIAC East) cut the margin in half by the end of the third 10-minute period, 40-33. Trailing 45-36 with four minutes left, the Wildcats recorded the next seven points and pulled within the closest since the first three minutes of the night, 45-43, on an Aaniyah Allen jumper. Taylor Addison again pulled FVSU within two, 47-45, with 40 seconds, but Central State made its final pair of free throws with 13 ticks for the win.
It was a tough Wildcat shooting night as they made only 18 of 71 field goal attempts and only 4 of 20 from 3-point range. Central State (2-0/1-0 SIAC West) won the rebound battle, 52-41, but committed 11 more turnovers (27 to 16).
Behind a trio of treys, Allen led all scorers with 16 points to go with seven steals and three rebounds. Addison added eight points off the visiting bench and had three rebounds. Arieonna Booker chipped in six tallies, swiped five passes and grabbed two boards.
Ja'Nya Ferguson clutched five rebounds to go with four points and Delissa Kier had six caroms, three points and a blocked shot. Makayla Arnold added four points and two rebounds and Kimora Wade hit one 3-pointer. Ace Stevenson rounded out the scoring with the team's final bucket.
Central State saw both Jacquel Bronaugh and Ma'Kayla Williams scored nine points off its bench.
The Marauders started strong and went out to a 9-1 lead in the first five minutes of play. Central State kept the eight-point margin, 18-10, at the end of the first. Allen hit a triple with 5:46 in the second frame to cut the difference to 20-15. The home team increased it back to 33-20 by intermission.
FVSU came out of the half and ran off the first nine points capped by an Arnold tip-in for a 33-29 contest at 6:18 in the third. Booker made the first shot of the final period for a 40-35 score at 7:56 remaining before the Wildcat push three minutes later.
FVSU stays on its long road trip north where it plays at Kentucky State on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 16, starting at 1 p.m. in Frankfort, Ky.
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