Jan. 4, 2014

FAYETTEVILLE, NC - The Fayetteville State women's basketball team battled back from a 14-point deficit to take a late second-half lead, but the Lady Broncos couldn't finish the deal in a 58-53 loss to Virginia State on Saturday at Felton J. Capel Arena.

Akysia Resper scored 18 points and Deja Middleton recorded 12 rebounds, but neither could successfully knock the visiting Lady Trojans (10-0 overall, 1-0 CIAA) from the ranks of the unbeaten.

"I'm proud of the way we bounced back from being down 14," FSU coach Eva Patterson-Heath said. "We were aggressive and attacked the basket, got some transition baskets. However, we have to learn how to finish the game."

The loss is the first CIAA defeat for the Lady Broncos (8-3, 1-1) and the first loss overall since a 64-53 defeat at Elizabeth City State on Dec. 2. FSU next suits up against those same Lady Vikings on Monday at 5:30 p.m., again at Capel Arena.

Virginia State got off to a good start, grabbing a 28-14 lead just over 15 minutes into the contest. The Lady Broncos dipped into that lead a bit, cutting it to 30-20 at the half. FSU was limited to just 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) shooting in the first 20 minutes and the Lady Broncos were outrebounded, 23-20.

Those figures were improved upon in the second half, when FSU shot 30 percent (9-of-30) and outrebounded its opponent, 22-20.

After trading baskets early in the second half and allowing VSU to grab a 36-24 lead, the Lady Broncos went on a 13-5 run, cutting the deficit to 41-37. The Lady Broncos finally took the lead on an Amber Calvin layup with 7:04 left.

FSU trailed 55-53 in the final couple of minutes before three mistakes did it in. A bad pass led to a turnover, a point-blank layup rimmed out and a dead-ball technical allowed the Lady Trojans to put things out of reach.

Monday's game is the final contest of a three-game homestand before FSU hits the road for games at Lincoln (PA), Virginia Union and Bowie State.