FAYETTEVILLE, NC --The Fayetteville State women's basketball team rallied from an 11-point deficit at 38-27 with 4:54 left in the third quarter to beat the Virginia Union Panthers 64-55 at home Thursday
The Broncos (13-1, 6-0) had three players score in double figures, led by Aniylah Bryant, who had 19 points and five steals. Keayna McLaughlin tacked on 14 points and two steals and Nyah Wilkins chipped in as well with 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals off the bench.
The Panthers (9-6, 4-3) leading scorer, Ny Langley, led the team with 11 points.
Led by Wilkins' five offensive rebounds, Fayetteville State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 15 boards that resulted in 14 second chance points.
The Fayetteville State defense held Virginia Union shooters to only 34 percent from the field.
How It Happened
Fayetteville State started off strong, putting together a 12-9 lead heading into the second quarter. Fayetteville State did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring eight of its 12 points close to the basket.
The Broncos could not maintain their lead in the second quarter and entered halftime trailing 23-20.
Virginia Union continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 38-27 advantage before Fayetteville State went on a 7-0 run to trim its deficit to 38-34 with 2:35 to go in the third. The Broncos continued to reduce the Virginia Union lead, shrinking it to 45-43 by the end of the third quarter. Fayetteville State played well near the basket, scoring 16 of its 23 points in the paint.
Fayetteville State managed to gain control and had a 58-53 lead before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Bryant's layup, to grow the lead to 64-53 with 20 seconds to go in the contest. The Panthers narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Broncos still cruised the rest of the way for the 64-55 win. Fayetteville State took advantage of 10 Virginia Union turnovers in the quarter, scoring 11 points off of those takeaways.
Game Notes
» The Broncos rallied from a two-point 45-43 third quarter deficit to pick up the win.
» The Broncos held the Panthers to only 34 percent shooting from the field.
» The Fayetteville State bench came alive by scoring 22 points to its scoring output.
» Fayetteville State had a 41-39 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Fayetteville State defense forced 32 turnovers.
» Fayetteville State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 15 offensive boards in the game.
» Aniylah Bryant led the Broncos with a game-high 19 points.
» Fayetteville State got eight rebounds from both Nyah Wilkins and Morgan Graham.
The Broncos will be back at Felton J. Capel Arena to face off against the Bears of Shaw University on Wednesday, January 17th beginning at 5:30pm.
