Charlotte, NC -- Elizabeth City State and Fayetteville State women's basketball teams played neck-and-neck basketball for three quarters before the Broncos turned up the intensity in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Vikings 22-10 to take a 64-52 win in their CIAA women's basketball tournament quarterfinal contest Wednesday afternoon at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Â
The Broncos, the top seed from the southern division, improve to 19-8 overall. The Vikings, the number four seed in the northern division, conclude their season with a 12-18 mark. Fayetteville State will play the winner of the Lincoln University/Winston-Salem State University game in the first semi-final contest of the tournament on Friday, February 28, 2020 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
Â
Katisha Hyman (Aurora, NC) led four FSU players in double figures with a game high 20 points.
Chantel Williams (Charlotte, NC) added 14 points while
Aminata Johnson (Durham, NC) chipped in 13.Â
London Thompson (Lumberton, NC) finished with a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Â
ECSU's Devonna Stell also had a double-double with a team high 14 points and 16 rebounds. Nyasia Blango and Nyasia Davis added eight points apiece.
Â
The two teams exchanged baskets in the first four minutes of action with the Broncos holding a slim 8-7 lead thanks to a pair of three-point baskets from Hyman. Fayetteville State opened up a seven-point advantage by quarters end outscoring the Vikings 10-4 to take an 18-11 lead into the second quarter.
Â
Blango scored the first five points of the second quarter and Markeia Porter added a layup to tie the game at 18-18. The Broncos responded with a 9-3 spurt to go back on top 27-21 with 3:18 left as Hyman hit her third three-pointer of the game during the FSU run. The resilient Vikings squad battled back with an 8-0 spurt to close out the half and take a 29-27 lead at the break. Davis had six of ECSU's eight points during the run.
Â
The Vikings took advantage of eight Bronco turnovers in the half producing a 9-0 advantage in the points off turnovers category. ECSU also held FSU to just 32.3% shooting in the half (10-31) while shooting 39.3%(11-28) from the field.
Â
The Broncos scored nine of the first 11 points in the third quarter to take a 36-31 lead with 4:54 remaining with Hyman scoring the final two baskets of the run. After both teams traded baskets, Deal's three-pointer from the right corner and Stell's putback knotted the score again at 38-38 at the 2:43 mark. Neither team truly gained the upper hand in the final minutes of the quarter as the game entered the final stanza with the two teams deadlocked at 42-42.
Â
In the fourth quarter, the Broncos used an 11-0 run to erase a slim one-point Viking lead to take a double-digit lead 58-48 with 3:12 left on the clock. FSU scored six of the final ten points of the game to secure their berth in the semi-finals with a 64-52 win. The Broncos forced seven turnovers in the quarter and held the Vikings to just a 20% (4-20) shooting effort to help secure the win.
Â
The semi-finals begin on Friday at the Spectrum Center. Fayetteville State will tip off at 1 p.m. against the Lincoln/Winston-Salem State winner.
Â
Gallery: (2/26/2020) FSU Women vs. ECSU in CIAA Tourney
Â