Dec. 9, 2007
Box Score
Durham, NC - The Lady Broncos were outscored in the second half and allowed North Carolina Central University to come from behind for a 95-82 win in the 11th annual Lady Eagle Classic held inside McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium in Durham, N.C. on Saturday.
The first half was close throughout. With just 16 second remaining before the end of the first period, freshman guard Mercedes Humphries hit a jumper to break the sixth tie of the first half and give the Lady Broncos a 41-39 advantage. NCCU committed a turnover on the ensuing possession and Humphries found senior guard Leticia Dickson on the wing for three-pointer that put Fayetteville State up 44-39 going into halftime.
The Lady Broncos stayed on top early in the second period. With 10:29 remaining, sophomore guard Jamara McMillan went inside for a lay-up that gave FSU a 63-52 advantage. That began a Lady Eagles rally; Tonia Roundtree capped off a 12-0 NCCU run to take a 64-63 lead.
Jori Nwachukwu caught fire for the Lady Eagles, scoring 21 second half points. Nwachukwu would finish with 35 points, seven rebounds, and three steals; her performance earned her the Lady Eagle Classic Most Valuable Player award.
Despite Nwachukwu's breakout performance and the Lady Eagle rally, FSU was still in contention for a victory in the final two minutes. However, NCCU held on to their slight advantage with clinch free throw shooting. N.C. Central shot 80 percent (16-of-20) from the charity stripe in the final period and almost 82 percent (27-of-38) for the game.
McMillan scored a team-best 18 points to claim All-Classic Team honors, while sophomore guard L'Oreal Price added 17 points and Dickson 14 points.
NCCU (1-11) won its first game of the season as a first year Division I program, while Fayetteville State (5-1) suffered its first loss of the season.
The Lady Broncos will participate in another tournament December 17th and 18th in Highland Heights, KY. Fayetteville State will face Northern Kentucky and Kentucky Wesleyan in the Travel America Basketball Classic held on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
