QUICK START HOLDS UP FOR SOUTH’S TOP-SEED JOHNSON C. SMITH

QUICK START HOLDS UP FOR SOUTH’S TOP-SEED JOHNSON C. SMITH

Quattlebaum leads Lady Golden Bulls with 15 points in easy win

March 1, 2011

CHARLOTTE, NC – Terran Quattlebaum was open on the wing. She got the pass, and didn’t think twice.

She let the 3-point shot fly. It didn’t even draw iron.

Only net.

Eleven seconds into the game, the Johnson C. Smith Lady Golden Lions were ahead 3-0, and the rest of the game seemed almost as effortless as Quattlebaum’s first jump shot as the Southern Division champion ran away from Chowan 71-52 on Tuesday night in the CIAA Tournament quarterfinals at Time Warner Cable Arena.

“I’m extremely proud of our team effort,” said Golden Bulls coach Vanessa Taylor, the CIAA Coach of the Year. “We just shot the ball extremely well in the first half.”

Quattlebaum (So., Mitchellville, MD) was just one of several scorers for the Lady Golden Bulls, who opened the game on a 17-2 run and were only threatened once. Quattlebaum finished with 15 points, 12 of them in the first half, where she made three 3-point shots. Terrica Jones (Jr., Raleigh, NC) scored all nine of her points in the opening period while All-CIAA selection LaQwesha Gamble (Jr., Winter Haven, FL) finished with eight points and eight rebounds, much of it done in the first half as well. Tyra Breaux (Sr., Baltimore, MD) added 10 points, eight of which came in the second half.

Johnson C. Smith will play the North’s No. 2 seed Bowie State in the semifinals. Bowie State knocked off Winston-Salem State 63-56 earlier Tuesday. The semifinal game will take place at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Chowan (15-13), which rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit to beat Livingstone in the opening round on Monday, made one attempt at a comeback against the Golden Bulls (23-3). Ransheda Jennings (Jr., Suffolk, VA) scored five points to spark an 11-0 Hawks run to bring Chowan back into the game, 17-13, with 10:42 remaining in the first half.

But the Golden Bulls quickly put the run on the skids, getting a three-point play from Gamble and back-to-back 3s from Quattlebaum to make up a 9-2 spurt and put Johnson C. Smith back in front by double-digits, 26-15, with 9:22 to go in the period.

“Chowan is a team that is not going to go away,” said Taylor. “They were down 19 points and fought back to get to the next round. That was our first reminder at halftime.”

Later in the half, Jones drilled a 3 and Quattlebaum made an off-balance jumper that led to a three-point play, putting the Lady Golden Bulls, who made five of their first six 3-point attempts, comfortably ahead 41-25 at the half.

Quattlebaum stayed hot through the break, coming out in the second half to nail another 3 – her fourth in her fourth attempt – barely 90 seconds into the period to give the Golden Bulls a 46-27 lead.

“Coach always talks about doing what you do best,” said Quattlebaum. “I was able to do what I do best, our team was able to do what it does best, and we won.”

Chowan managed to score seven of nine points in one stretch to close within 14 points at the 15-minute mark, but Johnson C. Smith had an answer for that minor run as well. The Golden Bulls ripped off an 18-5  spurt, featuring a nifty runner and a dazzling layup by Breaux for a 66-39 JCSU lead – its largest -- with 7:13 remaining in the game.

Chowan’s Jennings finished with 17 points to lead all players. Danielle Coleman (So., Virginia Beach, VA) added 10 points and five rebounds.