Jan. 29, 2011
Box Score
By Dan Ryan
B-CUAthletics.com
ORANGEBURG, S.C. - It's actually quite simple how Bethune-Cookman was able to beat South Carolina State 64-55 Saturday despite literally being outnumbered 2-1 in roster size.
"The secret," said B-CU coach Vanessa Blair, "Is that only five can play at a time." The banged up, patchwork roster of the Lady Wildcats put together another superb Saturday effort as B-CU (10-9 overall, 4-4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) won on a Saturday for the fourth straight time.
B-CU started the day with just eight on the roster compared to 14 for South Carolina State. The odds got worse when Jasmine Bugg left the game midway through the first half with an injury, and Amanda Hairston's foul trouble didn't help, either.
So when Blair would put two players in the game, she was literally clearing the bench. No matter. The five on the floor all contributed and B-CU's soldering through the adversity continued.
"That's what we've been focusing on all year," Blair said. "We've been down on numbers all year, hampered by injuries all year. We can't focus on the number of players they have, it's about what we do."
All eight players (including Bugg) scored, with Jasmine Daniels leading the way with a career-high 24. With B-CU leading 27-22 at halftime, Daniels scored seven points on a 9-2 Lady Wildcat run that pushed the lead to 36-24.
The Lady Bulldogs got the next two baskets on a follow-shot by Fannie Goodwin and two free throws by Knotts to close the gap to 36-28 with 13:32 remaining but Daniels canned her second shot from behind the arc to ignite a 13-5 run that put B-CU ahead 49-33 with just under six minutes on the clock.
South Carolina State never got closer than eight down the stretch, which saw Daniels sink seven of her final eight free throw attempts. "We definitely needed that," Blair said of Daniels performance. "When Bugg went down, we were minus a guard and needed JD to step up."
While Daniels (6-10 from the field, including 3-4 from three-point range) did her thing from outside, Cleniece Roberts delivered a clutch performance inside as finished with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Roberts paced B-CU's 48-37 rebounding advantage and also made clutch plays, including a rebound basket after Daniels missed two free throws during a key part down the stretch.
"She was relentless," Blair said of Roberts. "She's as banged up as everyone else, but she was a the top of the press and the top of the half court zone."
Jasmine Elum scored 10 and was one rebound shy of a double-double for B-CU, who faces North Carolina Central Monday.
