Elizabeth City State reaches CIAA semifinals after trouncing Saint Paul's

Elizabeth City State reaches CIAA semifinals after trouncing Saint Paul’s

February 28, 2006 

CHARLOTTE – Elizabeth City State jumped on Saint Paul’s early and erased any thoughts of a second straight upset bid with a 99-68 victory Tuesday in the CIAA women’s quarterfinals at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. With the win, the Lady Vikings (20-8) advanced to the Friday’s semifinals for the second straight year, while the Lady Tigers’ (6-23) season comes to an end.

Saint Paul’s, seeded 6th in the Eastern Division, advanced to the quarterfinals after upsetting Fayetteville State in the first round Monday, but ran into a road block against Elizabeth City State, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Division. The Lady Vikings put the game away quickly as they roared to a 26-8 lead with 11 minutes left in the first half.

The Lady Tigers had no answer for the Lady Vikings’ inside game, which proved to be the difference. Six Lady Vikings scored in double figures led by All-CIAA center Celeste Trahan, who scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Forward Tiffany Smith tied Trahan for team honors with 17 points and forward Tanika Hudgins added 12 points and 8 rebounds.

The Lady Vikings scored many easy layups but the backcourt produced as well. Guard Deanna Price scored 14 points, guard Ranisha Childress added 11 points and guard Venkia Jones had 11 points and 13 assists.

The Lady Vikings needed a team effort to offset Saint Paul’s All-CIAA player Nikki Bowen, who led all scorers with 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Katrina Wright added 15 points for the Lady Tigers. Bowen scored the Lady Tigers first 12 points and it wasn’t until the 7:36 mark of the first half that another Saint Paul’s player scored. By halftime, Bowen tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds.

But she and her teammates were no match for Elizabeth City State, which led 58-34 at halftime. The Lady Vikings, last year’s tournament runnerups, scored the most points since beating Livingstone 121-113 in overtime Feb. 7. The 99 points were the second most that Saint Paul’s has given up this season.