Box Score CSU climbs back to .500 with 66-64 road win over Spring HillMOBILE, Alabama – Traveling over 700 miles to take on the Badgers of Spring Hill College, Central State came up with big baskets and defensive stops down the stretch in a 66-64 win on Thursday night.
Spring Hill, who escaped the CSU campus with a 62-60 win earlier in the month, opened the game on a 15-4 run thanks to the perimeter marksmanship from Jewell Hill and Armanee Broussard. CSU slowly chopped the lead down and trailed 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Marauders cut the SHC lead down to 4 after a
Sierra Harley layup with 5:10 remaining in the first half. SHC answered with a 9-2 run to take a 11 point advantage and took a 37-26 lead into halftime.
The Badgers remained ahead by 11 for the majority of the third period, leading 49-38 at the 1:44 mark. CSU finally manufactured a run to climb back into the game. Sparked by the defensive and offensive play of
Shannon DeFoe, CSU ended the third quarter on a 10-2 run capped off by a
Meshia Smith three pointer to bring CSU within three going into the final 10 minutes.
With new life heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Marauders opened the final period with another 10-2 run. A
Brianye' Copeland layup gave CSU a 58-52 lead with 6:15 left to play. The Badgers regained their poise and came back to take the lead, 61-60, with a Alishia Drayton-Lewis three-point play at the 2:40 mark. The teams traded baskets on the next two possessions. After splitting a pair of free throws, SHC clung to a 64-62 lead with 58 seconds left on the clock. Smith struck again from the perimeter for CSU, taking advantage of a SHC defensive lapse and draining another shot from beyond the arc. Up 65-64. On SHC's next offensive trip, a Hill layup attempt was rejected by
Kourtni Perry and CSU reclaimed the ball with 11 seconds. CSU split a pair of free throws at the other end to give SHC one last chance to tie or win the game. The CSU defense came up with the big stop on the other end of the floor, forcing SHC into a off-balanced shot that went long as time expired.
In addition to outscoring SHC, 40-27, in the second half, CSU defenders frustrated the Badgers by taking 7 charges – all leading to points on the other end. CSU's bench was also a key factor in the win, scoring 30 combined points to 18 from the Badger reserves. The combination of forwards DeFoe and Perry along with penetration from guards Copeland and
Ghameerah McCullers helped CSU outscore SHC, 32-14, in the paint.
"I thought
Shannon DeFoe helped changed the game with her defense," said CSU Head Coach
Sheba Harris. "She helped us regain momentum by taking multiple charges. She came up big for us with two crucial baskets on the other end that helped to jumpstart our offense. We also had a great effort from
Brianye' Copeland,
Meshia Smith and
Ghameerah McCullers. Every member of the team contributed tonight which is what we need on a consistent basis going forward in order to keep winning on the road."
Copeland led CSU with 12 points on the night. McCullers and
Sierra Harley each scored 10 points. Smith had 8 points and 4 blocks. DeFoe and Perry chipped in with 6 points each as CSU evened its overall record to 12-12 on the season and 5-9 in conference play.
Spring Hill was paced by 13 points from Camry Johnson. With the loss, the Badgers fell to 10-15 on the year and 8-8 in SIAC play.
Central State travels to Memphis, TN to play LeMoyne-Owen on Saturday at 1 pm.
Notes:
- Thursday night's SIAC game did not count towards the conference record for Central State
- CSU has two games remaining against SIAC opponents (LeMoyne-Owen & Lane).
- CSU is currently in 4th place in the SIAC West standings.
- The SIAC Postseason Tournament begins on Feb. 29 in Birmingham, AL.
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