MARQUEE MATCHUP OF THE WEEK:

Shaw Lady Bears (3-1) at Lynn Fighting Knights (6-2)                            Wednesday December 19

As the reigning Division II and CIAA champions, the Shaw Lady Bears know every time that they step on the court they will get the other team’s best shot.  They got an emphatic reminder of the fact just this week.  The 13^th-ranked Lady Bears saw their 16-game winning streak come to a screeching halt when the Tusculum Pioneers pulled a stunning 78-58 upset on Tuesday.  It was just the second game of the season for Shaw and their first since November 14.  The effects of the long layoff showed as the Lady Bears struggled to shoot the ball, hitting just 19 of 65 shots (29.2%).  Shaw also turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 23 times, which led to 20 Tusculum points and ultimately, their first defeat since a 68-66 road loss to Johnson C. Smith back on February 4.  They quickly shook off the humbling loss, going 2-0 the rest of the week including a 109-62 win over Washington Adventist on Friday and a big victory over 17^th ranked Nova Southeastern on Saturday.  This week the Lady Bears travel to Florida to take on Palm Beach Atlantic (2-6) on Monday before another difficult early season road test against the Lynn University Fighting Knights on Wednesday in Boca Raton.  Lynn, from the Sunshine State Conference, returns four starters and looks to improve on last season’s 12-15 record.  The Fighting Knights are led by All-Sunshine Conference guard Kira Harvey, who leads the league in scoring at 20.9 points per game.  The versatile Harvey is also first in the conference in steals (3.1 spg) and 3-pointers (22), third in free throw percentage (89.4), and fourth in rebounds (7.9 rpg).  Lynn opened the season with five straight wins before a 59-52 loss to Florida Southern in their Sunshine Conference opener on December 1.  LU’s other loss came at Division I Stetson 65-51 on December 4.

HOT HANDS:

Shaw Lady Bears:

Kearah Jeffreys, Jr. Guard 5-4 (14.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.5 apg), Sequoyah Griffin Sr. Guard 5-9 (10.0 ppg, 2.7 apg, 2.3 rpg), Ronika Ransford (16.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg), Crystal Wilson Sr. G 5-8 (10.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.0 apg, 3.7 spg), Taylor Dalrymple Sr. Forward 6-1 (15.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.0 apg, 3.7 spg),

Lynn Fighting Knights:

Kira Harvey, Guard, 5-10 Sr. (20.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 3.1 spg), Shatorria Baker, Guard, 5-6 Fr. (9.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.9 apg), Amanda Schultz, Guard, 5-11 Sr. (6.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg,), Tylar Tracy, Guard, 5-10, So.  (6.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

LAST TIME OUT:

#13 Shaw University 97                 # 17 Nova Southeastern 82

Following a surprising 20-point loss to Tusculum on Tuesday that snapped a 16-game winning streak, the Lady Bears regrouped and reeled off two big wins this week, including an impressive 97-82 win over 17^th ranked Nova Southeastern on Saturday.  Taylor Dalrymple scored a season-high 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Lady Bears.  Dalrymple, a 6-1 senior forward, was 10 of 12 from the floor and stepped out beyond the arc to knock down 4-of-4 three-point attempts for the defending national champions.  Ronika Ransford scored a season-high 21 points and hauled down six rebounds.  Adana David added 11 points, while Crystal Wilson just missed double figures with nine points.  Four other Lady Bears scored at least 7 points to round out a balanced Shaw attack.  

Lynn University 56          Palm Beach Atlantic 48

The Lynn Fighting Knights erased a 10-point first half deficit en route to a 56-48 win over the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish on Friday.  Guard Kira Harvey scored 21 points as the Fighting Knights improved to 6-2.  LU also got 11 points and seven rebounds from Charla Nelson-James.

                                THE TALE OF THE TAPE

CIAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Week

Week Six

Player of the Week

Lamesha Deal, Virginia State University
Cl.  Jr    Pos.  F    Ht.   5-10    Wt.           
Hometown  Norfolk, VA 

Week’s Stats 

Top Performance vs.  Mercy  Date  12-15-12 

Player of the Week - Notes of Interest
Lamesha Deal recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Mercy College on the road. She nailed 9 of 11 attempts from the free-throw line and made 7 of 15 shots from the field in a 23 point outing; her best ever at Virginia State. 

Newcomer of the Week

Kristen Hanzer, Fayetteville State University
Cl.  Sr.    Pos.  G    Ht.   5-10    Wt.           
Hometown  Youngsville, NC 

Week’s Stats 

Top Performance vs.  Salem International  Date  Dec. 11 

Newcomer of the Week - Notes of Interest
Hanzer tallied double-digit points in all three games last week for Fayetteville State as they posted a 3-0 overall record. Kristen finished shy of a quadruple-double in a 90-46 victory over Salem International in which she scored a team-high 21 points and added seven rebounds, eight assists and nine steals. She followed that performance with 17 points and three steals in a 79-69 win over No. 17 Nova Southeastern and  recorded a game-high 15 points in a 68-35 win over Washington Adventist in just 16 minutes of action. 

Rookie of the Week

Courtney Smith, Lincoln University (PA)
Cl. Fr.      Pos.   PG    Ht. 5-4      Wt.           
Hometown     Milwaukee, WI

Week’s Stats 

Top Performance vs.  Cheyney  Date:  12/9/2012 

Rookie of the Week - Notes of Interest
Smith stepped in when Denyse Moore left the game late in the second half because of an injury at Cheyney. She scored nine of the team's final 14 points to help Lincoln win its second straight game in the rivalry against Cheyney 

Coach of the Week

Eva Patterson-Heath, Fayetteville State University
Patterson-Heath led Fayetteville State to a 3-0 record last week and a 2-0 mark in the Shaw University Invitational. One of those victories came against No. 17 Nova Southeastern in which FSU shot a season-best 67% from the field. The Lady Broncos held an opponent to its lowest point total of the season in a 68-35 victory over Washington Adventist and are currently 8-1 on the season and have won their last six games in a row dating back to Nov. 20. Fayetteville State averaged 79 points per game last week and held opponents to 50 points per contest. FSU forced opponents into 87 turnovers including a season-high 44 against Salem International.