ST. PAUL'S ROOKIE HITS PAIR OF CLUTCH FREE THROWS IN UPSET OF LIVINGSTONE
February 26, 2007
(CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA) Saint Paul's College rookie Gabrielle Johnson sank a pair of free throws with 16.7 seconds left to provide the Lady Tigers with an upset victory over Livingstone College in the first round of the 32nd annual CIAA Women's Basketball Tournament inside Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, N.C.
Johnson, who was fouled by Livingstone rookie Jonta Moss on a fast break after receiving a long outlet pass from junior center Keneil Rainey, had made just 1-of-4 from the foul line before converting both free throws in the clutch.
Saint Paul's (9-19), the tournament's No. 10 seed, advances to Tuesday's quarterfinal game against the second seeded Lady Vikings of Elizabeth City State University at 3:00 p.m. Livingstone closes out the 2006-2007 campaign with a record of 12-16.
Saint Paul's trailed most of the first half until Alicia Brown's layup tied the game at 17-17 with 7:20 left before the break. Brown's jumper from the right elbow gave the Lady Tigers their first lead on the very next Saint Paul's possession. Saint Paul's closed out the first half with a 13-6 run and parlayed that into a 30-23 halftime advantage. Livingstone controlled the glass in the first 20 minutes, but Saint Paul's dominated in the paint. The Lady Blue Bears pulled down 24 first half rebounds, compared to only 13 for the SPC Lady Tigers. However, the first half come back by Saint Paul's can be attributed to 22 points in the paint compared to just four for Livingstone. Two other trouble spots for Livingstone were in the free throw and turnover categories. The Lady Blue Bears made four-of-15 from the free throw line and committed 14 first half turnovers.
Livingstone cut the halftime deficit to two points twice, 37-35 and again at 41-39 with 13:09 left to play. Livingstone's Kimone Johns knotted the score at 41 at the 11:35 mark, but both teams went cold for more than three minutes. Tatiana Ellis broke the drought with 7:49 remaining in the contest, making one-of-two from the free throw line. Lina "Love" Brown pulled Livingstone to within one at 44-43 before Saint Paul's extended the lead to six at 51-47. However, the Lady Bears cut the Lady Tigers lead to 51-50 on two free throws by Clintoria Bryant with just under four minutes left in regulation. Brown came through big time with 2:46 left on the clock, shifting the advantage back to Livingstone. Another Brown layup put Livingstone up by two at 54-52 at 2:27. With 2:08 left, SPC's Gabrielle Johnson made the first free throw, but missed the second, making it a one point game with just under two minutes to play. Ellis nailed a huge 3-pointer to put Saint Paul's ahead at 56-54 with 1:25 left. The score was tied at 56-56 until a pair of free throws by SPC's Johnson with 16.7 ticks remaining. After a Lady Blue Bears time out, a potential game-winning three-point field goal attempt by LC's Bryant fell short and St. Paul's celebrated the upset victory.
St. Paul's was sparked Johnson and Katrina Wright with 13 points each, while Juantale Cook added 12 points off the Lady Tigers bench. Rainey grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Livingstone was led by Lamika Davis with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Brown finished with 11 points, a team-high seven boards and a game-high four blocked shots, while Johns accounted for 11 points and six caroms. Bryant came off the Lady Blue Bears bench to contribute 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
