STATESBORO, Ga. — Redshirt sophomore
Faith Williams and redshirt freshman
Promise Cunningham both tallied career-high point totals for the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team in an 84-60 non-conference road loss at Georgia Southern University Saturday afternoon inside Hanner Fieldhouse.
Williams drilled four 3-pointers on the way to leading the Eagles with 17 points. Cunningham swished a trio of treys to pace NCCU's reserves with 11 points. The maroon and gray made a total of nine 3-pointers, which is the second most trifectas bucketed in a game this season.
Sophomore forward
Anissa Rivera added her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Rivera, who has scored in double digits in all 10 games this season, completed her outing with three blocks, three steals and two assists. Junior
Kiyana Brown chipped in six points and six rebounds to go along with a game-high five blocks.
In a contest where Georgia Southern played nearly twice as many players as NCCU, the host Eagles outrebounded the visiting Eagles 55-31 and finished with a 52-18 surplus on points in the paint despite Rivera's game-high dozen boards.
Georgia Southern (10-10 Overall) leveled its record with a balanced offense that featured 13 of its 15 players that saw game action registering points. Three different reserves reached double-digit points for the victors, including a team-high 13 points by freshman Terren Ward. Senior Sarah Moore notched eight of her team-best 10 rebounds on the offensive end while filling up the box score with six points, three assists and two steals.
Williams swished three shots from long range in the first quarter to help keep NCCU within four, 22-18, after 10 minutes of play. However, NC Central was held scoreless for the first five minutes of the second quarter and Georgia Southern scored 10 unanswered points during that span to construct a double-digit advantage. GSU outscored NCCU 25-9 in the period and maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half.
NC Central (3-7 Overall) will play a second game at Georgia Southern on Sunday at 2 p.m.
