Jan. 10, 2012

Box Score

By Dan Ryan
B-CUAthletics.com

DURHAM, N.C. - When Demetria Frank drained an NBA 3-pointer for a buzzer beater to end the period, it symbolized how well the first half went for Bethune-Cookman in Monday night's 64-54 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory at North Carolina Central.

By then, Frank and Jasmine Elum were already in double figures and the Lady Wildcats had forced 18 turnovers en route to a 44-23 halftime lead that was impressive as any 20-point lead should be.

 And while the second half was that learning experience of playing with a lead and withstanding the comeback, B-CU (4-11 overall, 1-2 MEAC) still had its first road victory of the season.

 "I was very excited about how well we played the first half," said B-CU coach Vanessa Blair. "The young ladies came out with a lot of poise. The thing that pleased me the most was how everyone contributed."

Elum had 16 of her 21 points in the first half, going 3-3 from behind the 3-point and 5-5 from the line. Her three-pointer with 14:24 remaining put B-CU up 11-8 and the Lady Wildcats never trailed again.

Frank had all of her 11 in the first half, and along with Khalilah Quigley, had three steals to pace a defensive effort that allowed B-CU to pull away from a 15-14 game.

"We did a good job on defense in the first half," Blair "We wanted to pressure them right away."

Injuries and second-half foul trouble kept B-CU out of the rhythm it established in the first half as the Eagles got within striking distance, closing to 59-53 on two Chasidy Williams free throws with 2:51 remaining before B-CU finally sealed it.

"This team's still learning how to win and I thought we got very complacent in the second half," Blair said. "My hat goes off to North Carolina Central for competing."

Cleniece Roberts scored 11 points and had seven rebounds for B-CU, while Sharnese Neal registered eight points and seven boards. In addition to 11 points, Frank posted six steals, five rebounds and four assists.

Williams scored 25 for NCCU.