Box Score Bowie, MD – No. 13 Virginia State women's basketball team extended its winning streak to 13 games, remaining undefeated in the northern division with an overtime win over Bowie State, 70-58 on Wednesday night at the A.C. Jordan Arena.
The thirteenth ranked Trojans improve to 23-1 overall, 14-1 in the CIAA conference and 9-0 in the division.
"Tough game, both teams played hard. We knew they were going to come out to play hard. We didn't play with the effort we needed to play, however we didn't give up" stated head coach James Hill, Jr.
Lamesha Deal (Norfolk, VA) led all scorers with a game high of 23 points, shooting 5-10 from the field, 13-14 from the free-throw line and grabbing a total of eight rebounds. Jessica Lyons (Upper Marlboro, MD) added 16 points and seven rebounds while Tiffanie Adair (Spartanburg, SC) tallied 9 points and six rebounds.
Both teams got off to a slow start as they shot an identical 0-8 in the first five minutes. Deal would put the Trojans on the scoreboard first with a pair of free-throws at the 15:54 mark. VSU would go on a 7-0 run to lead over the Lady Bulldogs, 14-7 with 6:09 remaining in the first half.
The game was tied four times in the first half; however VSU would take lead into intermission, 25-20.
The Trojans shot just 17.4 -percent (4-23) from the field, 25.0 –percent (2-8) from the three point line and 93.8 –percent from the free throw line in the first half.
Bowie State opened up the second half with a 15-2 run over the Trojans until Jessica Lyons nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to 35-30. From there VSU would ignite a 7-0 run at the 10:09 mark.
The Trojans tied the game eleven times with two lead changes during the second half. Cana Marriott's (Wendell, NC) three-pointer tied the game at 43 apiece with 6:04 remaining in the game. Bowie State's Denver Clyde would answer back with a good jumper to regain the lead for the Lady Bulldogs.
VSU trailed by as many as four points before the game became tied, yet again, sending them into overtime, 53-53.
In overtime, The Trojans took lead by a good basket from Deal; however the gap didn't last long as the Lady Bulldogs replied back. VSU went on a 9-2 run to secure a victory over the Lady Bulldogs of Bowie State University, 70-58.
Afterwards, Coach Hill stated "It was a back and forth effort but in overtime, we jumped out to lead and we didn't look back to pull out the win".
Lyons and Deal accounted for 12 points of the Trojans 18 points scored in the overtime victory.
The Trojans last and final game of the regular season will be Saturday, Feb.22 as they play host to Lincoln University in Daniel Gymnasium on Senior Night. Tipoff is at 3:00 p.m.
