Dec. 3, 2011
Final Stats
Reach WBB Contact Michael Stambaugh for more details - 386.481.2278
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A strong second-half comeback fell short for the Lady Wildcats as Florida A&M defeated B-CU 81-57, Saturday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium.
The Florida A&M press caused troubles for the Lady Wildcats in the first half, putting B-CU out of position in their offense, as the Lady Rattlers ran away to a 43-23 halftime lead.
Coming out in the second half, the Lady Wildcats played with fire and intensity, clawing their way back into the game and mounting a comeback that spanned 13 minutes. B-CU used stifling defense and great ball movement to shift a 24 point deficit to just eight with a hair over six minutes to go.
"I think it was the confidence," said Head Coach Vanessa Blair of the second half rally, "it took a while for us to gel. In the second half, everybody became more familiar in their roles and responsibilities, and the team started to play with a little bit more knowledge of what they had to do."
After holding FAMU to just 12 points in 13 minutes, a three pointer by Kimberly Sparkman proved to be the momentum shift to break the game back open, launching FAMU onto a game-closing 14-0 run to collect the 81-57 win.
The Lady Wildcats showed a great deal of heart fighting back from such a notable deficit, playing for the first time this season with all of their seniors, as this conference opener marked the first contests for Demetria Frank and Clenience Roberts, both coming off of injury rehab.
"I'm really happy for the ladies that they battled back, they didn't hang their heads, and realized that we are still are very young, especially with veteran players who literally have just come back," said Blair.
Roberts got her share in, tallying 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while Frank put up eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Jalisa Isaac led the Lady Wildcat scorers with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
FAMU (3-4, 1-0 MEAC) was led by senior forward Antonio Bennett, who finished with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, collecting four of the Lady Rattlers' nine steals.
The Lady Wildcats (1-5) fall to 0-1 in MEAC play and continue with non-conference games for the rest of the month, facing off next with Stetson at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11 at Moore Gymnasium.
"December is going to be a good month for us to heal up and get some chemistry back in the flow, and then get back into conference in January," said Blair.
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