There's an old adage that says that "defense wins games" and you'll get no argument from VSU's Lady Trojans who forced 32 turnovers and held the Cheney University Lady Wolves to 30 percent shooting from the field, in a 73-45 road win in Cheyney, PA on Friday, Dec. 16. Defensively, Virginia State held Cheyney to a cold 16 for 54 shooting performance at their home in Cope Hall.


Virginia State cut a three-point early Cheyney lead with defensive pressure and inside scoring from senior Mariame Sylla, who scored a game high 22 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. The Lady Trojans scored 22 first half points thanks to 20 turnovers by the Lady Wolves as VSU went into the halftime break with a 23 point lead.


The Lady Trojans held onto a double –digit lead for the remainder of the game with several Lady Trojans pitching into the scoring mix. Senior guard Marquilla Evans led VSU's bench with 10 points, knocking down two shots from long range. The Lady Trojans found additional bench play from two of their junior guards, Shantel Crout, who scored 9 points and Ashley Whitaker, who added 8 points.


VSU shot 45 percent from the field and made 21 of 25 free-throws. Sylla made all six attempts from the free-throw line and sophomore Lamesha Deal grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds, along with 2 steals.


The Lady Trojans next game is Monday, Dec. 19 at 5:30 pm against Shepherd University in Daniel Gymnasium.