Nov. 29, 2008
Box Score
Raleigh, NC - Junior guard Danielle Russell had a floater fall through the nets as time expired to give Fayetteville State a 74-72 victory over Saint Augustine's College Saturday evening inside Emery Gymnasium. The Lady Broncos improve to 3-2 in the overall standings and 2-2 in the CIAA; SAC drops to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
FSU led 38-31 going into the locker at halftime. In the first half, the Lady Broncos outscored St. Augustine's 13-1 off second chance opportunities. SAC provided most of those opportunities by getting out-rebounded 23-to-14. The Lady Falcons turned the ball over 20 times opposed to 13 turnovers in the opening period for FSU.
Center Keyona Bryant led all scorers at intermission with 19 points. Russell and freshman center Deja Middleton led FSU's first half stampede with nine and seven points, respectively.
Fayetteville State maintained a five to eight lead throughout much of the second half. The Lady Broncos were up 67-56 with 6:33 remaining when St. Augustine's sparked their run. SAC went on a 10-0 scoring run over the next three minutes and eventually tied the game at 67 with 2:24 left.
With 1:12 on the clock, FSU trailed 72-71 after junior guard Chelsea Jeter scored on the interior. SAC guard Whitney Griffis committed her fifth foul sending Russell to the line to shoot two. Russell made the first to the tie the game at 72, but missed her second attempt.
FSU had possession with 26 seconds remaining. Russell misfired on a long range three-pointer, which gave the Lady Falcons the ball with 1.7 seconds remaining. Russell kept her composure and forced a turnover on the inbound pass. Russell got off a floater as the buzzer sounded to give Fayetteville State the win.
Bryant had a huge game for SAC, scoring a career-high 36 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Guard Allison Sikes had 12 points and seven rebounds, while Griffis pitched in with 11 points and five boards.
Russell had a team-high 19 points and four steals. Jeter finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
The Lady Broncos hope to push their winning streak to three when they face Morgan State University on Saturday, December 13th. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 pm from the campus of MSU in Baltimore, MD.
