Shaw tops Lincoln, 95-63 in CIAA Tournament First Round Action

Shaw tops Lincoln, 95-63 in CIAA Tournament First Round Action

February 28, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The inside trio of Demaria Liles, Kyria Buford and Aslea Williams combined to score over half of Shaw's points in a 95-63 first-round women's basketball win over Lincoln (Pa.) Monday on the first day of the CIAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena.
 
“It felt good to get our feet wet and get that first win,” Shaw Head Coach Jacques Curtis said.
 
Liles, a 6-1 senior forward, led the Lady Bears (18-11 overall) with 21 points on 9 of 11 shooting and snatched 12 rebounds. Buford, a 6-1 junior forward, added 20 points and Williams, a 6-1 junior center, added 15 points for the Lady Bears, the No. 2 seed in the Southern Division. The Lady Bears square off against No. 3 Northern Division seed Virginia State Tuesday in a CIAA quarterfinal game at 3 p.m.
 
Liles and Buford combined to score 32 points in the first half for the Lady Bears, who asserted themselves after a slow start. Buford scored 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting in the first half including 13 points during a 35-12 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 20-point halftime lead. Liles added eight of her 14-first-half points during the spurt.
 
The Lady Lions led 17-14 in the early going, but Buford scored six straight points during a Shaw run to put the Lady Bears ahead 22-21. She then stole the ball at midcourt and fed Liles for a three-point play to give the Lady Bears a four-point lead. Liles then swished a 3-pointer and scored on a drive, and all of a sudden the Lady Bears were ahead 30-21. The Lady Lions (3-24) never climbed back in the game from that point.
 
The second half was more of the same with the Lady Bears maintaining a lead of 20 or more points with the 32-point final margin being their largest lead of the game. All but one player scored for the Lady Bears, who shot 49 percent in reaching a season-high for points.
 
Sharay Dubose was one of the few bright spots for the Lady Lions, scoring a game-high 27 points. Cynthia Johnson added 15 points for the Lady Lions, who had 25 turnovers which the Lady Bears turned into 26 points.
 
DuBose had 15 first-half points for the Lady Lions, who stayed pace early before the Lady Bears pulled away. Led by Buford and Liles, the Lady Bears shot 49 percent in the first half compared to 35 percent for the Lady Lions.
 
Liles is making an immediate impact despite playing her sixth game after joining the team in February. She has scored in double figures every game with 21 being her personal best. Buford, the Lady Bears leading scorer at 17.2 points a clip, has also been on a roll lately. She scored 30 and 21 points in her last two games.