BALTIMORE (Feb. 25) – No.11 seeded Virginia State was just a few plays away from taking down No. 2 seeded Elizabeth City State but fell short, 57-53, in the CIAA women's semifinals at Royal Farms Arena on Friday.
 

Virginia State's miraculous run ended at 13-17 overall, but not before giving the favored Vikings a major scare. The Trojans entered the contest having defeated two higher-seeded opponents, and they were poised to pull off another upset but the Vikings made the winning plays in the game's latter stages.

Valerie Samuel converted a three-point play to pull the Trojans within 54-53 with 1:29 left, but Sireann Pitts answered with a short jumper for a three-point Vikings' lead. The Trojans would not score again as Felicia Jackson added a free throw for the final score.
 

The Trojans misfired on a three-pointer and the other trey was blocked in the final 13 seconds.
 

Samuel scored 16 points while Kaaliya Williams added 11 points for the Trojans, who forced 21 turnovers to keep pace with ECSU. VSU scored 18 points off Vikings' mistakes.
 

Fans were confident that the Trojans could pull off their third straight upset after leading 14-11 after the first quarter. The Vikings seized momentum in the second period, however.
 

Led by Blango, ECSU outscored the Trojans 21-13 for a 32-27 halftime lead. Blango scored 10 first-half points and Pitts amassed five points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Jackson added nine points for the Vikings, who shot 57% from the field in the second quarter.
 

Samuel scored eight points and Williams produced seven points in the first half for the Trojans, who scored 14 points off 10 Vikings' turnovers.
 

Friday's game was similar to the regular season meetings between both teams. The Vikings won close games (65-59 and 55-53).