Lady Eagles advance with second half explosion against Virginia State
February 27, 2007
North Carolina Central (23-5) exploded for 14 unanswered points early in the second half to breeze to a 75-41 victory over Virginia State (9-20) in the quarterfinal round of the 32nd Annual CIAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, NC.
Led by Jasmine Newkirk's 19 points, including eight straight points in the second half, the Lady Eagles overcame a sluggish start to cruise to their 23rd victory in 28 games.
"She's our lightening rod. She gets us going and we feed off of her, especially tonight," said NCCU head coach Joli Robinson.
Newkirk, one of two freshmen starters for NCCU, led all scorers and added five steals on the night. She was joined by Cassie King with 15 points and LaQuanda Williams with 14.
"I was scared at the beginning because none of these girls had been here before," said Robinson. "We're a second half team, but I wanted them to play in the first half."
In a first half that had six lead changes, VSU led twice in the early going but the Lady Eagles took control at 13-10 on a three-pointer by Newkirk at 12:21 in the first half and never looked back.
NCCU stretched its lead to 26-17 on a short jumper by Jori Nwachukwu at the 3:58 mark.
VSU closed the gap to 26-23 with just over a minute to go in the first half but NCCU responded with successive layups by Latoya Bennett and Williams to take a 30-23 halftime lead.
"It was a different experience," said Newkirk reflecting on playing in an NBA arena for the first time. "In the second half I got use to the court and that was it."
The second half was all NCCU. The Lady Eagles opened with an 18-4 run in the first 6:14 of the half including 14 straight points in just over four minutes.
The Lady Eagles scored 23 points off 18 second half turnovers by the Lady Trojans to confirm their top seed in the tournament.
"They are one of the best teams in the CIAA, and they proved it again tonight, said VSU coach James Hill.
Monique Mason led the Lady Trojans with 16 points. Katania Walker added 15
NC Central advances to the semifinal round to face the Lady Bulldogs of Bowie State, Friday afternoon at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena.
