Feb. 4, 2010

Final Stats

FAYETTEVILLE - The only two undefeated women's teams in CIAA Western Division play met inside Capel Arena on Thursday.

Thanks to a swarming defense that constantly harassed Livingstone's high-octane offense, Fayetteville State remained that way.

The Broncos (12-6, 7-4 CIAA, 3-0 Western Division) limited Livingstone to just 26.5 percent shooting from the field on their way to an 82-66 win.

LC, who entered the contest averaging 71.7 points per game, tops in the CIAA, was held below 30 percent shooting from the field for only the sixth time this season.

Eva Patterson-Heath, FSU's head coach, attributed the Broncos' defensive effort to a great practice on Wednesday.

"I thought we played really good defense," she said. "We put some emphasis on that in practice yesterday working out of different defenses and identifying the correct rotations. In the first half I thought we did a really good job."

Four Broncos scored in double-figures including junior guard LaQuasha Jordan who scored a game-high 18 points.

FSU is third in the CIAA in scoring per game and has amassed 80 or more points three times this season.

"We were just feeling it offensively," said Deja Middleton who scored 10 points and had 13 rebounds. "Everybody was passing the ball and we were playing as a team. We looked for the open shot and got it."

Tiffany Haywood, the conference's leading rebounder, had 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. L'oreal Price added 11 points while Danielle Russell contributed nine points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

As a team, FSU grabbed 69 rebounds and outrebounded the Blue Bears (8-11, 4-9 CIAA, 2-1 Western Division) by 13.

"That meant everybody was doing their job," Patterson-Heath said of the Broncos' rebounding advantage. "I think everyone, with the exception of two people, got a rebound."

Dating back to the 2007-08 season, FSU has won five straight over the Blue Bears. The Broncos are 8-1 at home this season.

Thursday's game was the first of five-straight contests inside Capel Arena for FSU. The Broncos host St. Augustine's on Saturday, Chowan on Monday, Shaw on Feb. 11 and JCSU on Feb. 13.

The game on Feb. 13 against JCSU will begin at 2 p.m. Tipoff for FSU's games against St. Augustine's, Chowan and Shaw is set for 5:30 p.m.

Despite being alone atop the Western Division, Patterson-Heath said she's focused on one thing -- the Broncos' next game.

"We have a lot of games to go," she said. "That doesn't mean a thing to me. It's only the next game that is important to me right now."

Added Middleton: "We're ready for the rest of these games. We just have to play as a team, don't rush anything and stay calm."

Kelcyn Manurs led LC with 16 points while Kayler McBride and Samantha Joseph had 10 each.