Fayetteville State defeats Saint Augustine’s College to advance to the semifinals
February 26, 2008
CHARLOTTE- With each team splitting a win in the regular season,
the Falcons of St. Augustine’s and the Fayetteville State
Lady Broncos met in the Charlotte Bobcats Arena for Game 3 in the
CIAA Women’s Tournament. Entering the competition as the No.
4 seed, the Lady Falcons, with an overall regular season record of
18-9, placed third in the Eastern Division. The Broncos, the No. 5
seed, beat SAC in their second match-up, 79-72.
The Lady Falcons emerged early for the lead in the first half with
two three-pointers by senior Kelly Bural to send them into a
30-second timeout up by seven, 15-8. Whitney Griffis advanced the
Lady Falcons to their largest lead of 17 with three consecutive
field completions.
Down 27-10 with 10:31 remaining on the clock, the Lady Broncos
advanced on a 20-4 run in 6:02 to tie the game at 30 before the
one-minute mark. Mercedes Humpries capped a 5-0 run for the Lady
Broncos. All-conference honoree Leticia Dickson ran the floor
executing to the basket for the Broncos, and banked a free throw
for the Bronco lead, 31-30. Dickson sunk a three-pointer at the
shot clock buzzard to conclude the half only down by 2, 39-37, from
their large deficit of 17 early in the half. Griffis finished the
half 3-9, 4-6 with six rebounds and 10 total points.
Fayetteville State shot 38.7 percent from the field and 66.7
percent from the line. CIAA Rookie of the Year Allison Sikes
rebounded well for the Lady Falcons; however, shot 0-3 from the
field.
In the second half, Crystal McCaffity for the Lady Falcons added
two essential free throws to bring the game into a three-point gap
60-63. Dickson pulled away for the Lady Broncos on a 9-0 run for a
9-point lead 60-69. At the two-minute mark, Griffis fouled out. The
Lady Broncos excelled from the field shooting a 48.1 percent and
improved from the free throw line with 78.6 percent. Both Dickson
and L’Oreal Price were 100 percent from the line to send the
Lady Broncos into their largest lead of 12 with 1: 46
remaining.
In her first CIAA Tournament experience, Price of Fayetteville
State finished 5-11, 7-7 from the free throw line with 17 total
points and six rebounds, and was named the Game 3 Most Valuable
Player. Dickson finished 4-16, 10-12 from the line with 19 total
points and led her team to their first win in the tournament to
later face the winner of the No. 9 seed Virginia State and top seed
Shaw University.
