Box Score
NCCUW vs. Savannah State
DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) - North Carolina Central University senior Blaire Houston made her senior night one to remember, as she led the squad to a 50-38 win over Savannah State University with a career-high 19 points during the maroon and gray’s annual “Think Pink” game on Saturday, Feb. 11 in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
In the 12-point Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory, NCCU’s Houston added five rebounds and three assists to her career-high performance, while tallying a season-high 9-of-10 outing from the charity stripe and shooting 2-of-3 from the long range. Junior Chasidy Williams added 16 points, three steals and four blocks to NCCU’s first conference win, as sophomore Lakisha Evans pulled down 10 rebounds.
NCCU and SSU varied between four ties and two lead changes in the opening seven minutes of competition, until the Lady Tigers took the lead at the 10:40 mark with a score of 10-8.
The visiting Georgia squad extended their first-half lead to seven by the 6:11 mark. But a 9-4 Lady Eagles’ run, which Williams ignited, brought the contest within four at the 1:27 mark and concluded the first 20 minutes of play with a 20-16 SSU lead.
As the second half of play commenced, SSU once again extended the margin lead to seven points, but the mighty maroon was hungry for their first conference win of the season. Off a behind the arc basket and a pair from the 12-foot mark, Houston paced the Lady Eagles on 9-2 run to tie the contest at 27 points apiece. Williams attained a two-point NCCU lead off a layup at the 11:45 mark to pave the way to a 12-point maroon and gray win in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
Despite the Lady Tigers decreasing the margin lead from 13 points to 10 points, a 6-4 NCCU run secured the 50-38 home victory.
In the first MEAC victory of the 2011-12 season, the Lady Eagles shot 30 percent from the field on 13-of-44, 46 percent from the long range and 70 percent from the free-throw line on a 19-of-27 effort.
Jasmine Kirkland guided the Lady Tigers’ offense with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Zadous Pollard circulated three assists and Fila Smith stole nine possessions and tallied nine points.
In the loss, SSU was 30 percent from the field on 18-of-61 shooting, 1-of-13 from behind the arc and 25 percent from the charity stripe on 1-of-4.
NCCU advances to 3-21 on the season, 1-10 in the MEAC and evens out the series to 5-5, as SSU drops to 9-14 overall, 2-8 in the conference.
The mighty maroon returns to home-hardwood action with a Monday, Feb. 13 MEAC matchup against the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m.
