Charlotte, N.C. – The Fayetteville State University women's basketball team will face the Vikings of Elizbeth City State University for the third time in tournament history on Friday, March 1 at 3:00 pm in the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. The game will be televised LIVE via the ASPiRE Network.
 
The contest between the two University of North Carolina sister schools will be the 56^th meeting since 1981. To-date, FSU has a 37-18 series advantage.
 
The Broncos (20-7 overall) defeated Claflin 55-42 in the quarterfinals held at the Bojangles Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon. North No. 6 Elizabeth City State (16-15 overall) upset North No. 2 Bowie State 59-56 in the Spectrum Center on Thursday.
 
Katisha Hyman (Chocowinity, N.C.) led Fayetteville State to its victory with 17 points while Shantel Bennett (Sanford, N.C.) chipped in 10. All-CIAA Performer Yakima Clifton (Durham, N.C.) pulled down 9 rebounds to match her 9 points. Point guard Chantel Williams (Charlotte, N.C.) also had 9 points.
 
Elizabeth City State is riding high behind Asia Deal led all scorers against Bowie State with 20 points while Jalyn Brown added 18 points.
 
The fourth quarter between the Vikings and Bulldogs literally came down to the last 23 seconds when Deal made two free throws to give ECSU a 55-54 stand. On the ensuing possession, Alexander gathered an offensive rebound and drove in the lane for a jumper that would put the Bulldogs ahead 56-55 with 10 seconds left in regulation. The Bulldogs applied pressure full court after the basket, but Deal got fouled where she would go to the line and once again hit two free throws to provide a 57-56 charge.
 
With 5.4 seconds remaining, Bowie State had a chance to tie or take the lead off an inbound pass, but a missed 3-pointer resulted in a defensive rebound for the Lady Vikings who then iced the game with two made freebies from Deal.
 
In the last matchup against the Vikings and Broncos on December 17, 2018, after trailing 37-31 at halftime to Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State used a 9-2 run to close out the Vikings, 69-59, at the R.L. Vaughan Center in Elizabeth City, N.C.
 
The Broncos captured the final lead of the game with three seconds left in the third quarter. Brittany Drumgoole nailed a jumper with an assist by Yakima Clifton. 
 
Clifton sparked the game winning 9-2 run with 3:33 remaining after converting an old fashion three-point play. Yakima scored five of her game-leading 18 points during the span. The one minute forty-nine second run propelled FSU to a 69-56 lead with a little over two minutes left in the game. Katisha Hyman also scored 18 points in the game.