Dec. 5, 2010

Box Score

By Dan Ryan
B-CUathletics.com

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –Whether it's a monster in the closet, a mental block or some Rattler mind trick, it's keeping the Lady Cats' from ending a dubious streak.

Florida A&M defeated Bethune-Cookman for the 13th consecutive time Saturday as Tameka McKelton's 15 points led four players in double figures in the Rattlers' 68-56 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory at the Lawson Center.

FAMU (3-2,1-0) jumped out to a 12-3 lead and never trailed as it continued its run on B-CU (2-3, 0-1) that began back in 2004.

“There's a mental block here,” said B-CU coach Vanessa Blair. “That's the part of the mystery of this team. There's a part of our girls that have to get over the hump of having to beat FAMU and play to win instead of not to lose.”

B-CU cut it to 12-8 on a Demetria Frank three-point play with 12:10 remaining, but the Rattlers went on a 10-2 run after that and led 32-18 at halftime after keeping the Lady Cats scoreless the final 4:18.

In the second half, B-CU closed to 36-26 on a Jasmine Daniels three-pointer with 16:48 remaining. FAMU regained control and led by as many as 21 down the stretch.

Frank led B-CU with 18, including a 12-19 effort from the free throw line as she and Daniels played the entire 40 minutes. Sarah Bolden scored 10.

Once again short-handed, B-CU dressed just seven players and finished with five after two players fouled in a game that saw 48 combined fouls called. FAMU had ten different players score.

B-CU is off next week before embarking on a two-game swing through Louisiana, facing Louisiana-Lafayette and Nicholls State Dec. 13-15.